The road is open to all, but as a conscientious person, it’s important to always uphold road and car safety. Your actions and inactions behind the wheel can cost others their life or confine them to life-altering injuries. Many times, children are among the most at risk, making it important to teach them basic road safety lessons. According to data, 67,124 children sustain serious injuries from avoidable road accidents annually. This is why it’s crucial to make road safety lessons a priority.
- Car safety
Do you often ask your kids to behave in the backseat? Car safety is a basic road safety lesson for your kids to learn. If they have transitioned from special seats, let them know the importance of seatbelts and how those adjustable straps can save their lives. Also, your child must be taught not to open the car door until it has completely stopped. Even with that, you must teach your young ones to avoid opening the side of the door closest to traffic, even if the vehicle has stopped.
Although these precautions are basic, indeed they are the most common causes of many road accidents involving kids. In effect, the key word is caution, and as long as your kids understand that, you will successfully teach them to take better care of themselves, whether as riders or pedestrians. The road has no respect for people or class, so everybody must always exercise the utmost precaution.
- Pedestrian safety
One of the first things a growing child must know about the road is pedestrian safety. You can broach the subject by helping them understand that everyone who walks along the road or crosses it is a pedestrian. Beyond that, it is necessary to continue the conversation by extending it to the right way to cross the road at an intersection or crosswalk. Do not miss the conversation about listening for traffic and ensuring there is enough time to make it to the other end of the road on foot.
Furthermore, remember to teach your young ones about using sidewalks and why they must stay far away from the road if there are no pedways. Another important discussion to raise is using electronic or smart devices while walking on the sides of the road. Your kids must understand how risky that practice is while explaining that their actions as pedestrians can affect others on the road.
- Bicycle safety
Almost every child learns to ride their bike from the age of five. Many start with training bikes until they get proper balance on a real bicycle. Indeed, riding a bicycle is a lot of fun, but even at a young age, it comes with having a basic awareness of the surroundings. As an adult, in this case, you have the primary responsibility to sensitize these kids on bicycle safety. First, kids must have the right protective gear when riding their bicycles. A helmet, knee, and elbow pads are needed to protect the body parts they are designed for.
You must teach your child how to adjust their gear properly before they get onto the bicycle. The absence of these precautions raises the risk of serious injuries should a child fall off the bike. More so, it is important to sensitize kids to the dangers of speed riding, especially on e-bikes. They are equipped with batteries and motors that enhance speed, so a child’s reaction time can be delayed in the event of an electric bike accident.