5 Vital Tips for Children Walking Home this Autumn
During the darker autumn and winter months, it’s important to consider how you can make your child safer if they’re walking home. According to the Office of National Statistics, 28% of all road accidents happen to those under 19 and peak time for pedestrians to be killed or seriously injured is 3-6pm, just when children are walking home from school.
So, this Autumn, here are 5 vital tips for things you can do to reduce the risk of your child becoming a statistic.
- The route
Plan out the best route to walk with your child. Ideally, they need a well-lit route with crossing points and without lots of shrubbery or dark alleyways: the shortest route home is not always the safest.
- Road safety is not just for little kids
Most children learn road safety at primary school but it’s definitely worth double checking that they know the rules, especially if they have any difficult points on their route. If they have to walk in the road because there isn’t a pavement, they should walk so that oncoming traffic is coming towards them. Remind them to take extra care if they’ve got to cross the road – don’t forget that if they’re not expecting to see a car coming, the car is probably not expecting to see them!
- What to wear
According to the Office for National Statistics, the most common reason for car drivers colliding with pedestrians is the driver failed to look properly, so anything you can do to make your child more visible will help a driver to spot them.
Your child could wear something luminous and reflective like a jacket, tabard or a hat. However, which teen wanting desperately to fit in at secondary school, wants to wear a bright yellow or pink tabard on the way home?! You could consider a Futliit backpack with 2 bright white integral LED light strips plus reflective panels to add that extra layer of visibility. Your child can easily turn the lights on when they need to be seen in low light or in the dark.
- Take a torch
It might not make your child more visible on their journey but it will definitely help them see where they’re going! Not all areas are covered by streetlights particularly if you live in a rural location and even if there are streetlights, you often get darker stretches or uneven ground and potholes. Tuck a small but powerful LED torch into a pocket. It’s tempting to use a phone as a flashlight but…
- Be aware
…constantly looking at a phone screen means they’re not aware of their surroundings nor looking where they’re going, and the bright screen can make it hard for their eyes to adjust quickly to the darkness. Wearing headphones can also be hugely distracting – remind your child to listen out for traffic and other dangers, particularly as electric cars and bicycles are often almost silent.
