Thousands of children die from road accidents every year, stressing further the importance of road safety for children. In fact, the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) revealed that nearly 250,000 children are injured every year in car accidents. From this we can infer that on any given day nearly 700 children are harmed due to accidents on our roadways. And of the 250,000 kids injured each year, approximately 2,000 die.
Sadly, most of these road accidents could have been lessened, if not prevented, had we been more careful and vigilant that lives are at the expense when we talk about roads and driving, had we been more aware of the importance of road safety for children.
A lot of considerations encompass road safety for children. Parents, motorists, and children themselves must be well-informed and must work hand in hand to achieve roads that are safe to tread on.
If you’re a parent and you’re crossing the road with your preschool kids always make sure that you walk on the side facing the road (the unsafe side), not your children. Hold their hands all the time while walking by the pavement; not their hand holding on to you. Read: All the time. Always. Never let go. I can’t stress this enough. I should know. I have met two car accidents in my life already blame it to that simple rule we overlooked. Better learn from other people’s mistakes than experiencing it yourself and be too sorry in the end. Going back, if you have kids more than you can hold at once, use of reins would be a great idea.
There will come a time that your preschool will learn to go to school by himself without you holding his hands while walking. Even so, he can still be independent while staying safe. Instruct your kids to ask for the assistance of a traffic officer when crossing streets in school zones. Rest assured there is one there.
Choose a safe place to cross, preferably on pedestrian lanes or crossing. Reiterate the importance of waiting on the pavement together with other people until all the vehicles coming from both directions have finally stopped and when the red traffic light says so, because only then it is safe to cross. As much as possible, go along with other people when crossing. And always be alert. Scan the area as you walk.
If there are overpass or underpass nearby, make use of them, it’s a lot safer. Check if all cars are on a halt before crossing, see if there are any approaching vehicles. And when you’re approaching the other end of the crossing, watch out for cyclists and motorists who may not see you. Beware of narrow alleys where motorists could suddenly pop up. And wear bright or fluorescent clothes during the day for easy visibility and reflective materials at night.
Perhaps the most important of all, teach your kids to never ever cross the road while using their mobile phone or while listening to music with their head phones on. We’ve heard students who have been killed by massive ten-wheelers which have lost breaks. Did they not hear the truck blaring at them? No, blame those loud headphones stuck in their ears. You don’t want that to happen to you, I suppose. Do remember there is a perfect time for everything. You may use your phone anytime you want but please not when crossing the road or driving your parent’s car. Your gadgets can never replace your life. Ever. Drivers out there are not exempted from this friendly reminder. It’s a shame when people don’t practice what they preach about road safety for children and all the hullabaloo, especially to adults whom the youth look up to.
And of course, it may sound vey cliché: Wear seat belts and use child safety seats when driving. And stay alert at all times: remember cyclists and motorcyclists use the roads as well.
With all these reminders, one thing remains clear: our roads are definitely not safe today – actually it never was – especially for children. And if we adults fail to play our part responsibly to alleviate this preventable road fiasco, if we do not set good example among the children, and if we continue to overlook the fact that what we are talking about here are precious lives – the hope of the future generation in this case – all of the children’s effort and vigilance to provide and live in a safe world will just die in vain.
We must work altogether in upholding road safety for children. We can’t stress road safety to children more than enough.
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