Important road safety and traffic rules that children must know
According to the 2020 ‘Crime India’ report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 3.92 lakh lives have been lost in three years to negligence-related road accidents. Further, the ‘Road Accidents in India – 2019’ report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India states that the accident-related deaths and injuries in India in 2019 were 1,51,113 and 451,361, respectively. “Like in the previous years, the working age group of 18 – 60 years accounted for a share of 84 per cent in the total road accident deaths,” mentions the 2019 report.
In order to increase mass awareness about road safety, Hero MotoCorp, under its CSR initiative ‘Hero We Care’ has collaborated with Hindustan Times for the third edition of the 'Be a Road Hero 3.0' campaign. The campaign strives to make our roads safer for both vehicle occupants and pedestrians through print, radio, and digital media.
As part of the campaign, HT School has taken an initiative to raise road safety awareness among students in Delhi and Chandigarh and help shape their understanding and attitudes towards road safety. For this, the fun learning platform is offering a Road Safety Video Course and Quiz to students, upon completion of which, they will be awarded an e-certification.
Importance of road safety education for students
With the increase in vehicular traffic, roads are becoming increasingly busy. So, it is important for parents and teachers to teach children about traffic rules and regulation. Road safety education plays a significant role in helping kids grow up as responsible riders/drivers, passengers and pedestrians. The objective is to educate students about their responsibilities as pedestrians and encourage them to take a pledge to abide by the rules.
Road safety rules for students
Teachers and parents play a significant role in inculcating road safety norms among kids. Here are some road rules that they can help children imbibe.
Impart proper knowledge of signals
It is mandatory for everyone to be aware of traffic signs and road rules. Before leaving the students alone on a school picnic or an excursion-based class assignment, teachers should ensure that they are made aware of the basic traffic safety signals such as ‘Stop’, ‘No Parking’, ‘Horn Prohibited, etc. Let us have a look at the main traffic lights and signals which students should know:
- When the signal is green, it indicates that the vehicles are free to go.
- When the signal is yellow, it is a signal for drivers to slow down.
- A red light is the prompt for drivers to halt.
- At intersections, the walking man signal should be green to cross the road; if it is Red, students should not attempt to cross.
- In the absence of signal lights, one needs to use hand signals.
Remind Students to be careful while crossing the road
Teach your students and children, the good practices while crossing the road. For example-when they walk to school or need to cross the road from a school bus pickup or drop off stop, insist that they cross the road exclusively through a pedestrian crossing. In the absence of a pedestrian crossing, instruct them on how to safely cross the road by following these guidelines:
- Look on both sides of the road to see whether any incoming vehicles are approaching.
- If there are any approaching vehicles, wait for them to pass before crossing the road.
- Make them realize that crossing the road on the straight end is always preferable to crossing on bends.
- Insist that they never walk between the parked cars.
Armed with the knowledge of road safety norms, the young generation will grow up to be responsible citizens, which, in turn, will make the roads safer.