Road Safety

NATIONAL WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY

Today is National Walk Safely to School Day, highlighting the benefits of walking to school, including building healthy habits and improving road safety awareness. Walking to school provides children with opportunities to practise important safety skills such as using pedestrian crossings correctly, stopping and looking before crossing roads, recognising traffic signals, and staying alert near driveways and busy streets. 

We encourage families to continue taking the opportunity to walk, connect and start the day actively and safely together, whe possible.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN AND THINK AROUND DRIVEWAYS

Parents have a role to play when it comes to driveway safety. Your young child counts on you to supervise them near vehicles, separate play areas from driveways, and see where they are at all times.

Remember to:

• Supervise

When your child is around driveways, they should be actively supervised by an adult who is holding their hand. Ensure that young children are placed securely in a vehicle before moving it.

• Separate

Treat the driveway like a road. Do not let your child use the driveway as a play area. Separate play spaces from garages and driveways. Home features, including fences, high handles on garage doors and self-closing doors or gates, can help.

• See

All vehicles have blind spots. Even though reversing sensors and cameras can help reduce blind spots, it can still be hard to see a small child until it is too late. Do not become complacent. Get into the habit of walking around your vehicle before starting it, especially when leaving an area where a young child could be present.