Suffolk Roadsafe Child

LEARN - PRACTISE - UNDERSTAND

Traffic education and road safety training should start at an early age. Children learn by example and tend to copy adult behaviour. Please make sure that you set a good example as a safe road user!

Road safety training for children requires you to understand what they need to know and what they can and can not do. The first rule is to never let a young child out on the roads alone. They simply don't know enough to cope and cannot judge the speed and distance of vehicles accurately. Because they are very small they may not be able to see as much as an adult. When you are out with your child always hold hands or use a rein.

A child needs to understand their environment so make sure they know the difference between the road, the pavement and the kerb. Help children build their vocabulary. They should to be able to identify vehicles and the sounds they make. If you can, show them a pedestrian crossing and a School Crossing Patrol, as well as other things that are on and around roads.

Please teach the meaning of STOP - LOOK - LISTEN and start to build a strategy for crossing roads safely by demonstrating these actions whenever you cross the road together. Later on you can start to teach the Green Cross Code but this set of rules is meant for children aged between about 7 - 9.

Road safety officers and schools provide traffic education but the main way young children learn is through you.

Useful Links

The following links take you to pages which contain useful information.

Traffic education for children aged 5-7 click here

Car child seat safety information click here

School Crossing Patrols click here

Order resources from the DfT  click here

Contact us: click here