Ensuring Road Safety for Children

As children make their way to school, they need to use the roads and share them with other road users. Therefore, it is crucial for parents, caregivers, and community leaders to prioritize their safety.

To ensure that children are safe on the roads, parents and caregivers should establish some road safety guidelines and instruct their children to follow them strictly. It is worth noting that children of a certain age should never be allowed to use roads on their own without the company of an adult or an older child.

To teach children how to use roads properly, parents and caregivers should model the correct road safety behavior and guidelines. Children should always be accompanied by an adult or an older child when using pedestrian sidewalks. This is because children can be easily distracted by other road users, their toys, or other things along the road. It is therefore essential that parents, caregivers, and anyone walking with children hold their hands at all times when walking along the road.

Children who are seven years and above can use roads without strict supervision, but they should always be reminded to cross the road at a safe crossing area, such as a zebra crossing or a pedestrian crossover spot on a highway.

Children should never cross roads in front of or behind parked vehicles as this is very dangerous. These vehicles might reverse or start abruptly without the drivers seeing children who are trying to cross. It is also possible that other motorists could be overtaking these parked vehicles at high speeds without having a clear view of children crossing in front of a parked car.

Children who have phones and other gadgets should be cautioned not to cross roads while looking at their phone screens or listening to music through their headsets. These gadgets can distract children and cause them to forget to take crossing safety measures, which can easily lead to accidents.

It is important to remind children to cross the road only when it is safe to do so and when they have a clear view of both sides of the road. If motorists stop to give children the right of way to cross the road, they should move slowly and ensure that there are no other cars overtaking the one that has stopped for them to cross. They should also make sure that the other side of the road is clear and safe.

In conclusion, for children to achieve their academic and other life goals, they need to be safe on the roads. We should all take the necessary precautions to keep them safe as they pursue their education and other life endeavors.