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<h3>Worried about your kids and the roads?</h3>
 
Worried about your kids and the roads 
Educating your kids on road safety 
 
 
This is a really heavy subject and one which I think plays on most parents minds – but I have to say I really did not enjoy writing this one little bit. I have one daughter who has recently turned seventeen and has just started taking driving lessons … but I will talk about that another day. 
 
As British Summer Time ends and the weather begins to deteriorate it is difficult not to be even more apprehensive than usual when the children walk to and from school. We live off one of the main roads leading to Christchurch. Although the speed limit is meant to be 30mph many cars exceed this by more than 10, 20 or I would say even 30 miles per hour in extreme cases. It is also not unusual to see cars overtaking on this stretch. In some parts, the road has only a narrow pavement on one side, and is fronted by cute victorian terraces which must rattle as the lorries thunder by. There is also a petrol station, a couple of cul de sacs and a health club all within two hundred yards. Despite these hazards people insist on speeding. Why? Is it a love affair with speed or the possibility they might get to where they are going a few seconds earlier? Maybe if they thought about the consequences of their driving habits they might think again. 
 
I was talking about this with a friend of mine called Sarah Wraight. Sarah runs a company called Jumicar, who specialise in organising road safety events and children’s parties which offer a fun way of learning about road safety through driving motorised junior cars. 
 
Sarah feels much more should be done to tackle road safety awareness in children and the wider population. She feels that educating children on road safety should start with the smallest children so they develop a sense of responsibility and awareness of the dangers that they are likely to encounter. 
 
When you think that in 2004, 3,221 people were killed in road accidents. Hundred and sixty six were children, (children with serious injuries run into thousands). Also teenagers are more likely to be killed or injured in a road accident than any other age group. It really does make you sit up and think that maybe we should all be taking a little more time to educate ourselves and our children on road safety. 
 
 
Top tips on road safety: 
• Set a good example when crossing the road or driving. Children copy parent’s behaviour. If they see you taking chances, they will do so as well. 
• Children under eight are not able to judge distances very well and should always be supervised by an adult when crossing roads. 
• All drivers should be aware of their speed through built up areas .Remember not only will it be more difficult to stop at 40mph but you are more likely to kill someone. 
• Encourage your child to talk about what they see on the roads and whether it’s safe or not 
• Let your child make decisions with you, so that they learn through activity 
• If they are planning to walk somewhere, do a dummy run and help your child plan the safest route to the shops/granny’s etc 
• Try not to rush – accidents often happen when people are in a hurry 
 
For older Children and us Adults 
• stress the need to concentrate and be careful at all times 
• warn of the dangers of distractions; wearing personal stereos, using the phone or texting while walking are big distractions 
• keep talking about the dangers of traffic 
• point out people who are endangering themselves 
• encourage your teenager to judge the speed and distance of approaching vehicles on busy roads and identify safe gaps in the traffic 
• stress that your child should never lose concentration and follow others blindly into dangerous situations 
 
For further information on Jumicar, their road safety events and childrens parties contact: www.jumicardorset.co.uk 
 
For younger children Get Across Road Safety: a colourful guide to help teach road safety which includes games for you to play with your child. Call 0870 1226 236 or email: dft@twoten.press.net and quote T/INF/803 to order your free copy. 
 
Author Info
 
(C) Copyright 2006: Diana Groves is a busy working Mum of four children (and more recently three step children), who does her best to try and juggle all the people and projects in her life, but sometimes not quite as well as she would like !!! 
Her website www.helpforbusymums offers some practical help, time saving tips and a light hearted look at being a parent

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