INFO FROM ROAD SAFETY TEAM - Primary - Road Safety Education - Task Safer Places To Cross

Road Safety Education - Task (Safer Places to Cross Primary)

Dear Parent, this task is designed for you to work alongside and complete with your child/children in relation to a key road safety issue.  The focus is on safer places to cross and builds upon and encourages the use of “Stop, Look and Listen” when out and about as a pedestrian.  Use the opportunity of your daily exercise to allow children to learn through doing under supervision – in this case finding a safe place to cross and using the three key words of Stop, Look and Listen to get across safely.  There are also two follow up activities (name the crossing/sequencing) which can be printed out and completed by your child.

Safer Places to Cross

On your daily exercise, see how many of the following ‘Safer Places to Cross’ you can find (before you go, you might want to use the internet to learn what those less familiar ones look like and how to use them properly):

Zebra Crossing

Pelican Crossing

Toucan Crossing

Puffin Crossing

Pedestrian Island

Footbridge

Subway

Level Crossing

Don’t forget the School Crossing Patrol as a safer place to cross – if there is a Patrol on the normal route to/from school then this is an excellent discussion point with your child.

If there are none of the above available on your journey or at particular places you need to cross, then ensure you cross from a position that you can see and hear traffic coming from both directions.  This is especially relevant in rural locations.

Remember to:

• Hold handswith your child/children when at or near the road.
• Stopwith toes behind the kerb when you find a safe place to cross.                                                                           
• Look and listenbefore crossing the road, even if there is a Green Man illuminated.
• Continue toLook and listen for traffic as you cross the road - If you are using a pedestrian island remember to treat each section as two separate crossings so once you reach the island in the middle of the road repeat the stop, look and listen procedure to reach the other side of the road.

For further information, why not have a look at the following resources to assist you in teaching your child how to use our roads safely and effectively as they develop:

Watch the following short video: https://youtu.be/-HlOJqqL56U

To view the teaching aid calendars that are issued in hard copy to every primary school across Northern Ireland providing each class teacher with a weekly photograph, message and discussion note on a road safety theme: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/road-safety-teaching-aid-calendars

A recently produced guide for Parents of children aged 0-7 years: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/parents-guide-road-safety-0-7-years

General road safety information for parents of young children: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/road-safety-children-under-seven