Simple safety rules when traveling by car
– Children under 12 years of age must sit in the back seat of the car unless there is a special child restraint in the front seat.
– All safety devices must be correctly selected according to the age of the child. It is very important to ensure that your child is properly restrained for their size and weight.
– For children under 2 years of age there is a special seat that is attached to the back seat and faces the rear window. In the event of an accident, it reduces the load on the child’s neck (the most vulnerable spot in a collision) by 90%.
– For children from 3 to 8 years old, it is recommended to use a child seat with a special seat belt system. It reduces the possibility of injury by 70%. If your vehicle is equipped with an airbag, never install a child seat in the front seat.
– For children 9–12 years of age, it is recommended to use a booster seat or adapter that elevates the child's body so that the seat belt fits correctly and securely, protecting them, across the chest and down through the hips (not across the neck and abdomen). The closer the belt sits to the body, the better the protection.
– Wear your seat belts, even if your vehicle is equipped with air bags. By wearing seat belts, you reduce the risk of fatal accidents by 45%.
– A head-on collision at a speed of 50 km/h is equivalent to falling from the third floor of a building. Therefore, by not fastening your child with seat belts, you seem to be allowing him to play on the balcony without railings!
– Teach your children good habits and make them feel responsible. Explain to them how to behave and set a good example.
Statistics
According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in January–July 2016, 8.1 thousand people died in road accidents.
In these road accidents, 254 children died and more than 8,000 children were injured. According to experts, the cause of road accidents is drivers ignoring traffic rules. However, responsibility for road safety also lies with pedestrians, including parents of preschool children. The younger the child, the less sensitive he is to danger; the baby does not always know and understand what exactly threatens him, what consequences this or that behavior may entail. That is why it is very important for mothers, fathers, and other close adults to pay increased attention to the safety of children, and teachers should promptly inform parents about methods and means of preventing accidents. One of the forms of work in this direction is consultation for parents in kindergarten on traffic rules.
The success of speaking to parents of students depends on how the teacher prepares for the consultation, whether he can interest the audience and draw attention to the problem. Preparation of the consultation begins with studying the age characteristics of preschoolers from the point of view of children’s perception of the road and moving vehicles.
How kids see and imagine the roadway
A child’s field of vision is narrower than that of an adult, so it is difficult for a preschooler to determine the distance to a rapidly approaching car. Moreover, the child is not able to calculate the speed of traffic.
Children of early, junior and even middle preschool age do not perceive a car as something potentially dangerous. The kid rushes after the ball that has rolled out onto the road, not thinking at all about moving cars. The main thing for the child is to return the toy. He does not understand that trying to catch the ball may be his last. Therefore, the sooner work begins on children learning the rules of the road, the greater the likelihood of saving children from harm. The teacher tells moms and dads about all this, conducting a consultation on traffic rules for parents.
