Red Light, Green Light—Teaching Kids Proper Road Behaviour

Several times over the summer, I had the opportunity to walk with my kids around the neighbourhood and enjoy the sweet breeze along the way. We would take our time walking around to get some good exercise, and simply admire the old trees that lined-up our streets.
Each time we reach a street corner, my kids would suddenly become alert, and would remain vigilant before, during and after crossing the road. This has been their training ever since they started to walk, and stepped onto the concrete pavements of our streets, under my close supervision. Of course, as young as my children are, I still make it a point to hold their little hands whenever we cross the streets.

One bright Sunday morning when we were driving along Portage Avenue, a young boy who is barely 8 years old, crossed the road alone on a green light. The little boy dashed to the opposite side of the road, and stepped onto the curb like he had won a race. My kids saw what had happened and said, “Mom, he just crossed the road on a green light!” Their reaction to the incident made me realize that children, as young as they are, know what common sense is. Crossing the road alone especially if one is still a kid, needs to be supervised by a responsible adult. The roads aren’t a safe place to cross on your own, and so, children need to be supervised and educated about pedestrian safety.

Janice Paskey from Today’s Parent, published an article on the subject in September 2009 issue of Reader’s Digest. She listed out some important reminders about Pedestrian Safety—By Age. For your information, here is an excerpt from that article.

Pedestrian Safety—By Age

Up to 4 years old – This is when parents tend to be most vigilant about supervising kids around cars; consequently, children are at the lowest risk of being hit or killed. Little ones can’t understand the dangers, so hold your child’s hand as you near the road, or strap her into a stroller. For extra safety, dress tots in bright colours and use reflector tape. And it’s never too soon to start modelling good traffic behaviour, such as crossing at lights and waiting for cars to stop at crosswalks.

5 to 9 years old – risk increases, especially for boys. “The five-to nine-year olds are out of the house more; they’re a little more independent,” says Pam Fuselli, executive director of Safe Kids Canada. “They’re shorter and harder to see than adults, and their capability to understand the road and cars is still developing.” Fusselli says kids often assume that they can beat the car or that the driver will stop. “One of the things we teach is to make eye contact”—the driver sends a kind of message to cross. With kids in the early school years, you should still be holding the child’s hand while crossing. By age nine or so, most kids will be able to cross familiar streets on their own, as long as they’ve been coached in the safety rules. Kids age five to nine are most likely to be hit trying to cross a road with no traffic lights, and one out of seven collisions suffered by kids in this age group happen when a child emerges from between parked cars.

10 to 14 years old—Tweens and teens really believe nothing can happen to them as they saunter along, talking on cellphones and listening to iPods. But this is the highest-risk group for pedestrian injuries, so vigilance is still key. Experts agree that by ten to 12 years old, most children have fully developed the cognitive skills to assess traffic risk and cross unfamiliar streets alone.