Pedestrian safety

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Young children love to explore. They want to be where the action is and to do what you're doing. But they really don't understand danger, and that makes it hard to keep them safe. While it is very important for you to show your child how to behave around traffic, and to explain the road rules over and over again, children under 10 just aren't capable of keeping themselves safe on their own – no matter how well they seem to learn. An adult needs to keep an active watch on them at all times when around cars.

Playing around the home
Safety when getting in and out of the car
Going for walks and crossing roads
Safety when getting in and out of the car
When is my child ready to navigate roads on his own?

Playing around the home

Toddlers tend to move quietly and quickly. They do not realise that cars are dangerous. And they get highly absorbed by whatever they are doing, including chasing a ball behind a car. They often don’t stop if you ask them to.

This is why so many toddlers are hit by cars in their own yards or driveway. Even older children get hurt this way. One in 10 children who is hit by a car is in their own driveway at the time. Toddlers under two are most at risk.

Things you can do to prevent driveway accidents:

• If you can, fence off the driveway or garage so your toddler can't run towards or behind a car. Fencing any yards or play areas so your child can't get onto the road is also a good idea.
• Always hold your toddler's hand near cars – even if it's just around your driveway or walking to the letterbox.
• Double-check where children are before you reverse – they should be either safely belted in the car, or with an adult in plain sight outside the car.
• Talk to your child about what you're doing and why. Explain why you always have to hold hands in the driveway. Children learn about pedestrian safety by watching what you do and hearing why you do it.

Car parks are similar to driveways in that reversing drivers find it very difficult to see small children behind their car.

Safety when getting in and out of the car

Children learn by repeating the same experience often. If you always use the kerbside, rear passenger door when putting your baby into his restraint, your child will get used to always getting in and out of this door. Later, when your child is a toddler and preschooler and is more independent, he will be used to getting in and out of the car through the safest door – the one away from traffic.

If you have a baby and a toddler, keep your toddler safe inside the car while you deal with the baby first. Once out of the car, hold hands with your child and together work out where cars could come from before you walk away from the car. When returning to the car, help the toddler in first as the baby is less likely to move out of sight.

Going for walks and crossing roads

• Always hold a toddler or preschooler's hand when you are crossing the road.
• Until the age of 10 or so, children need adult supervision to help navigate roads safely.
• Teach children about car, road, footpath and car-park safety.

As your child becomes a toddler, and later a preschooler, you are likely to be out walking and crossing roads more and more. Even quiet side streets on the way to the local park, a friend's or the shop can be dangerous. So too can slow-moving cars. This is the time for adults to be really aware of road safety. Children learn by example. They will start to learn good road-safety habits if you always cross at a crossing, if there is one, or at the corner. Teach them to use the lights and pedestrian crossings, to look both ways and to stop to check that there are no cars coming out of driveways. Talk about why you're doing what you're doing: explain why you're stopping at the crossing, looking both ways and so on.

No matter how well they may seem to know the rules, children up to 10 or so need active adult supervision when they're anywhere near traffic. They are just not capable of being responsible for their own safety.

Tips for walking and crossing roads:

• Children will start to learn by example if you always cross at the corners, wait for the lights, and look in every likely direction to check that there are no cars coming.
• Stop at driveways and check that there are no cars reversing or entering.
• Start talking about road safety while your child is still in the stroller. For example, ‘Uh oh, car coming. Better wait until it's gone before we cross’. And keep talking about road safety.
• Always hold your toddler's or preschooler's hand when you are crossing roads.
• Even if your child protests or wants to run, you can say he can only cross roads when he's holding your hand, and praise him when he does so without a fuss.

It is essential to hold a toddler’s hand wherever there is traffic or where cars could be, especially where there is:

• a high volume of traffic
• narrow or non-existent footpaths
• things that block the view – parked cars and trucks, trees, hill crests or crowded footpaths.

Safety when getting in and out of the car

Children learn by repeating the same experience often. If you always use the kerbside, rear passenger door when putting your baby into his restraint, your child will get used to always getting in and out of this door. Later, when your child is a toddler and preschooler and is more independent, he will be used to getting in and out of the car through the safest door – the one away from traffic.

If you have a baby and a toddler, keep your toddler safe inside the car while you deal with the baby first. Once out of the car, hold hands with your child and together work out where cars could come from before you walk away from the car. When returning to the car, help the toddler in first as the baby is less likely to move out of sight.

When is my child ready to navigate roads on his own?

• Until the age of 10 or so, children have not yet developed the skills they need to navigate roads safely.
• Supervise them closely before that, and always hold a toddler's or preschooler's hand when you're crossing the road.

Children under 10 need to be with an adult when crossing roads or walking to schools, parks, friends’ homes and shops.

This is the case even if they seem to know all the road safety rules or seem to cross roads sensibly when they're with you. Even children who can recite all the safety rules won't necessarily remember to follow them. They can easily daydream while crossing a road without an adult and are likely to forget to concentrate on the traffic when they are with friends.

By around the age of 10, many children have developed the skills required to judge traffic reliably. This includes being able to locate sounds, judge speed or notice oncoming traffic out of the corners of their eyes. Your child is ready to navigate roads safely when he:

• knows and understands road-safety rules
• seems to be able to judge road traffic – paying attention to and interpreting the movement of vehicles on the road
• understands that even though he must follow the road rules, a car might not
• can choose safe places to cross roads.

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