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Walking to School
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 Teach
your kids, especially those between five and nine years of
age, to be wise walkers. Children in this age group often
lack the understanding to deal safely with traffic. That's
why traffic safety education is so important for younger students.
Chose the safest route to and from school and walk it with
your children, showing them how to safely cross streets.
Try to make walks to school a fun activity
while practicing basic street-crossing rules.
For example, stop at the curb with your
kids and draw a line on the sidewalk about 4" from the
curb with chalk. Explain that this line is where they have
to put on the "brakes" and STOP. Practice walking
up to the line and say STOP together. Later, erase the line
and practice again.
If the walk to school includes an intersection
with traffic lights, let your child push the button to stop
traffic, then tell you when the WALK sign appears. Together,
look left, right and left again to make sure traffic has stopped
and cross the street using the crosswalk.
Kids must understand they have to wait
for the WALK sign before crossing. Explain how the DON'T WALK
sign means you can finish crossing the street if already in
the road, but not to start crossing if you are still at the
curb.
Be sure students know they must walk,
not run, across the street, then continue to look for vehicles
- especially those turning right on red. Point out and demonstrate
the importance of allowing enough time to cross the street
safely.
Above all, set a good example for your
children, their actions and attitudes are modeled after yours.
CROSSING
THE STREET |
Children must learn traffic
safety rules at an early age. Parents should teach
their children to follow these ten steps, developed
by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), whenever they cross a street:
- Cross at an intersection
or crosswalk, if available.
- Stop at the curb, the
edge of the road, or the corner before proceeding.
Look left, then right, then left again for traffic
in all directions. If you see
a car, wait until it goes by. Then look left,
right, left again.
- When no cars are coming,
walk - do not run - across the road.
Keep looking for cars when you are crossing.
- If a car is parked where
you are crossing, look to make sure there is
no driver and the car is not running. Then go
to the edge of the car and look left-right-left
to see if cars are coming.
- At intersections with
traffic lights, watch for turning cars and obey
all traffic signals. Wait until you see the
WALK signal and the green traffic light. Remember,
the WALK signal and green light mean it's your
turn to cross the street, but does not mean
it is SAFE to cross. You need to LOOK, and then
go if no traffic is coming your way.
- A flashing DON'T WALK
signal means you should not start to cross the
street. However, if you have already started
crossing when it begins flashing, continue walking.
- If you see a steady
DON'T WALK signal, don't begin to cross the
street. Wait for the next WALK signal.
- Walk on the sidewalk
if there is one. If there isn't and you have
to walk on the road, be sure to walk facing
traffic so you can see what's coming.
- If you must walk through
parked traffic, stop and look carefully before
stepping out from between vehicles.
- Don't run between parked
cars and buses. Don't run across the street
or through a parking lot.
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> School
Bus Safety Home Page
> Taking
the School Bus
> Walking
to School
> Riding
a Bike to School
> Play
it Safe When You're Behind the Wheel
> Sources
of Back to School Information and Web Links
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