One of the leading causes of death in Australian children (under 15) is injuries. In particular, traffic injuries. Each year, traffic fatalities affect more than 1,000 Australians and tens of thousands are impacted by traffic-related injuries.
Children are more at risk of traffic incidents or injuries. This is because they typically tend to act on impulse, have difficulty making judgements and they can be less visible to drivers (particularly small children).
National Road Safety Week is an annual initiative that occurs in May each year. Each year, the week is supported by a different theme that encourages us all to improve road safety awareness.
Learning and practicing road safety should start in childhood. It’s important that children are taught road safety in real life settings, this is because they can absorb this information better and learn from our actions.
Road safety tips for children
Here are some ways that you can teach road safety to your children.
Safety equipment
Does your child ride a bike, scooter or skateboard?
If so, it’s important that they know about the importance of wearing a helmet and other protective gear. Children should know about how protective equipment can keep them safe in accidents and protect them from sustaining significant injuries.
Crossing the road safely
Another safety tip that you should teach children and young people, from an early age, is how to cross the road safely. This includes following the ‘stop, look, listen and think rule.’
Other ways to teach your children about road safety includes:
- Explaining the importance of using sidewalks or footpaths when walking near roads
- Not playing on roads or driveways
- Don’t play around cars, even if they are parked
- Teaching them about road rules
- Waiting for green signals
- Getting in and out of the car safely (i.e., using the curbside or rear passenger door)
- Safest places to cross the road
- Remind them about the importance of wearing their seatbelts and not to play with them
- Always stop at driveways and check to make sure that cars are not reversing or entering
- Explaining the importance of wearing brightly coloured clothes so that they can be seen by other road users
- Putting away distractions such as phones or games when around roads
- Explaining road signs and their meanings.
Being role models
As adults, it’s our job to role model how we want our children to act, think or behave. Therefore, when it comes to road safety, we should be extra vigilant about following rules and being safe. Children are quick to observe our actions, especially when we aren’t doing the right thing. Therefore, it’s important that we do the right thing, all the time.
We can do this by ensuring that we’re always:
- Putting our seat belts on properly when getting in the car
- Putting our children’s (especially young children’s seatbelts on) when getting in the car
- Obeying road rules and signs
- Not being distracted by things when we are driving
- Safely crossing roads and using pedestrian crossings when getting from one side of the road to the other
- Wearing visible clothing, particularly in the dark
- Using sidewalks and footpaths when walking near roads
- Holding our children’s hands when we are walking near roads or crossing
- Supervising children near roads.
If you’re travelling with a child under the age of seven, it’s important that you ensure they’re restrained in a properly fastened child restraint (and one that complies with Australian safety standards).
Resources
There are plenty of free online resources available for children and parents about road safety.
The Queensland Government StreetSmarts website has a Road Safety Quiz for Kids and Teens. Additionally, they have plenty of downloadable resources to print and use for young children, learner drivers and adults.