Many rural areas in Georgia lack an important safety feature: sidewalks. Unfortunately, this means that many children (and adults) must walk along the road to get to school and other destinations.
Most drivers watch out for pedestrians, but you cannot know when a careless motorist is driving near your kids. That means it is up to you to teach them how to stay safe when walking close to traffic on roads with no sidewalks.
Simple lessons to instill in your children
Safe Kids Worldwide encourages parents with kids younger than ten to accompany them near traffic and intersections, especially if there are no sidewalks. If your young kids must cross any streets to reach their destination, consider tagging along to help protect them.
Here are 5 more tips to safeguard your young pedestrians:
- Always face oncoming traffic: Tell your children to walk facing traffic to keep an eye on oncoming cars and stay out of their way.
- Cross at intersections or crosswalks: Teach them to use intersections and (when available) crosswalks to get across the road.
- Make eye contact with drivers: Show your children how to make eye contact with motorists to ensure that they are seen.
- Look both ways and then look again: Tell your kids to look to the left, then right, and left again before beginning to walk across a street.
- Be aware of surroundings: Teach them to look out for cars that are backing up or making turns.
The consequences of a pedestrian accident involving children can be devastating, as they are no match for heavy, fast-moving automobiles. If your child or other loved one suffered injuries in such an accident, consider exploring your options under Georgia accident and injury compensation laws.