On the eve of the new academic year, it is particularly important to remind adults of the significance of their authority for children. It is worth starting with the main reasons for road traffic accidents involving minors:
On the eve of the new academic year, it is particularly important to remind adults of the significance of their authority for children. It is worth starting with the main reasons for road traffic accidents involving minors:
· children's lack of knowledge of basic traffic rules;
· lack of skills and habits of observing traffic rules for pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers of vehicles;
· indiscipline or inattention of children on the street;
· insufficient adult supervision of children's behaviour on the street.
Children are unable to foresee danger or correctly estimate the distance to an approaching vehicle. Very often, children overestimate their abilities, considering themselves faster and more agile than they actually are.
Teaching a child the basics of road safety is not an easy task. The main method of education is explanations given by parents and their personal example. If parents consider it acceptable to cross the road in an undesignated place, then it is futile to expect proper behaviour from children. The most common mistakes that lead to traffic accidents are:
· crossing the road in front of approaching traffic;
· unexpectedly entering the roadway from behind an obstacle;
· crossing the road in an undesignated place.
It is necessary to teach a child to look. Before taking the first step from the pavement, it is necessary to survey the road in both directions. This should become automatic. Much of ensuring children's safety on the road depends on vehicle drivers. Hitting a child is a special category of incident. The law exempts pedestrians under 14 years of age from any liability for careless behaviour on the road. A child is never legally at fault in a traffic accident, and therefore, the driver's role in ensuring safety increases. It is necessary to be extremely attentive, patient, and considerate when driving near schools, other children's institutions, at pedestrian crossings, when overtaking vehicles parked on the roadside, and other obstacles that limit visibility. Therefore, we remind you that the most effective way to educate children and instill in them the basic traffic rules, as well as their proper behaviour on the street, is
example of adults, and, first and foremost, parents. And the success of accident prevention involving children will depend on their awareness, personal culture, and discipline.