What can I do to make my way to school safe?

Roads and their surroundings are an environment in which everyone must learn to stay and respond correctly to the signals they send. You can't put off starting school. From an early age, children should be introduced to the rules of the road and how to improve their safety under adult supervision.

The statistics show how serious the consequences of their ignorance can be. In 2015, 48 children aged 7 to 14 died on Polish roads, 2 were injured.

This statistics looks even worse among children and adolescents aged 15–17. Last year, 67 people were killed and 1 injured. This is still a significant improvement from 716, when 2014 people from the age group in question died and 71 people were injured.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us. In 2015, the average road traffic death rate in the European Union was 51,5 per 1 million inhabitants. Poland, with a score of 77 people per million inhabitants, was at the bottom of the table.

What can we do to keep children safe?

• we will spare no time and effort to discuss the rules of traffic on the road
• let's remember that our example shapes the child's attitude 
• have the child make a list of road commandments

Let's practice doing things like:

• crossing the lane - we will explain the markings, say what a zebra is and why we should use it when crossing the road.

Let's show you how to apply the "look left, look right, then left again" rule. Let us explain why you can neither play by the road, nor run across the road, nor walk in front of an oncoming car.

• Marking clothes with reflectors - from September 1, the rules requiring the use of reflectors after dusk outside settlements came into force.

The use of reflectors, mandatory since 2014 outside built-up areas, greatly increases visibility. Let's remember this especially now, when autumn is approaching. A reflection on a bag or reflective strip can save a life.

• movement on asphalt and on the road where there is no asphalt

We will show how to move along the road and where there is a pedestrian place - how to use the sidewalk and why, when there is no sidewalk, you need to move along the side of the road on the left side.

• getting in and out of the car

From a child safety point of view, it is important that the child enters and exits on the right side of the vehicle, i.e. on the side where the sidewalk should be.

– Remember that it is we adults who set the standards of behavior. Compliance with traffic rules, culture and respect for other participants will allow us to increase the level of road safety not only now, but also in the coming years, when our children begin to actively enjoy car freedom, says Radoslav Jaskulsky, Auto Instructor of the Škoda School.