Road safety for children

This information came from a great website http://asirt.org/tabid/276/Default.aspx

Ages 5-9

Teach and model safe traffic behavior.

Ensure that your children are supervised by a responsible adult on the way to and from school and whenever they are near roads.

Discuss road signs and traffic signals with your children. Help your children identify safe places to cross streets.

Discuss the rules for crossing with signals.

Reinforce the STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and THINK procedure.

Set a good example by adopting safe pedestrian practices yourself.

The "Walking Bus" is a good way to model safe pedestrian practice for young children. Children and parents join with others walking to school to create a walking bus.

Ages 10-13

Children begin to cope with traffic independently, but need to be checked regularly. Ensure that they remember and follow safety procedures. Plan safe walking and cycling routes together. Strategies:

• Encourage children to use controlled crossings and always STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and THINK.
• Help children choose a safe route to school.
• Be realistic - if the route they usually follow is the quickest, but not necessarily the safest, help them identify and minimize the hazards.
• Set a good example by observing the rules yourself.
• Make sure your children know that there are increased risks to pedestrians during bad weather and at night. Encourage them to wear colors that are easily seen by day and by night.