School’s out! Here are some road safety tips on how to keep your children safe whether they’re walking, cycling or passengers over the school holidays.
Remind kids of the 4 main messages from their school road safety calendars.
- Always wear your seat belt – on every journey in the car
- Cycle Safely – ensure the bicycle is safe and wear a properly fitted helmet
- Stop, Look, & Listen – every time you need to cross the road
- Never distract your driver – let them concentrate on the road.
Reinforce these messages throughout the summer holidays.
Download the calendars on nidirect.
Child restraints and seat belts
If you are driving with children as passengers under 14 years of age in the car you are responsible for their safety.
It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure children under the age of 14 years old are strapped in properly.
Never carry more children than there are seat belts.
Don’t risk any child’s life – every child MUST use an appropriate child restraint – however short the journey.
Don’t guess. Make it your priority to read this information about seat belts and child restraints, so you have the official guidance.
Cycle Safety
Children should be encouraged to cycle as it is a good way to get around and stay fit. Ensure the bicycle is in a roadworthy condition, insist the child wears a properly fitted helmet and hi-visibility clothing should be encouraged from an early age. Lots of schools offer Cycling Proficiency training to their pupils.
When cycling, keep safe and remember that until your child learns how to negotiate junctions safely, they should dismount and walk, using the Green Cross Code as a pedestrian where necessary.
Although some children at primary school may not be cycling independently, children should be made aware of safer places to cycle such as cycle paths and lanes and how whether we cycle or drive, we all have the same right to share the road.
The Green Cross Code: Stop Look Listen
Children should not go out alone until they are old enough to know the Green Cross Code and use it properly. The age is different for all children but it is generally not before they are eight years old i.e., when they are more able to judge distance and speed of traffic.
Remind children of Skooter’s road safety advice and use the Green Cross Code:
- find a safe place to cross
- stand on the pavement near the kerb
- look all round for traffic and listen
- if traffic is coming – let it pass then look all round again
- when there is no traffic near, walk straight across the road
- keep looking and listening for traffic while crossing
See Highway Code Rule 7 a-e ‘The Green Cross Code’ and find out more about The Green Cross Code on nidirect.
Never distract your driver
Children should never distract the driver as it puts everyone in the car, as well as other road users, in danger.
A sudden shout or movement can distract the driver and lead to a chain of events that could cause serious injury in the event of a crash. Encourage children to travel in the back seat, stay in their child seat (if they still use one) with their seat belt on and behave so that the driver can concentrate on what is happening on the road.
Enjoy the summer safely!
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