Get children back to school safely
As the new school term begins Warwickshire County Council is urging parents of children starting primary school to talk about road safety to them at all times.
In Warwickshire last year 52 child pedestrian casualties and 30 child cyclist casualties (between the ages of 1 – 15 years) occurred and figures show that the majority of these incidents happened between the hours of 8am and 9am and between 3pm and 4pm.
Stan Milewski, Senior Road Safety Officer with the county council, said: “By simply talking to children about road safety and setting a good example when you are out on the roads, you can encourage youngsters to develop good road sense and traffic awareness skills from day one.”
The following tips will help you to ensure your child remains safe as they travel to their new school.
Crossing the road:
Children starting primary school need to be with an adult as they are not ready to cross roads on their own before they’re about 8 years old
Always set a good example by choosing safe places to cross and explain what you are doing
Use the Green Cross Code and explain that you have to stop at the kerb, then look both ways and listen for traffic before crossing. When it is safe to cross, walk straight across the road and keep looking and listening for traffic
Remind children to concentrate - they may be easily distracted
Make sure that anyone else looking after your child follows the same road safety rules as you do
For more road safety advice for parents, visit our webpage on http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/roadsafety