student road safety Archives

Road Safety Rules In The Netherlands

Posted on February 11, 2019 by TSB Super Admin

The Netherlands is a country where cyclists form a quarter of its traffic along with cars, buses, trams, trucks and trains.

With an enormous number of cyclists on the road, driving can be a challenge. The Netherlands Transport Ministry issues road safety rules and regulations for both motorists and cyclists.

Driver’s License

The minimum age requirement for obtaining a Dutch driving license for cars is 17 years.
A moped driving license can be obtained by drivers aged 16 and above.
The learner has essentially to pass a compulsory theory exam and a final practical exam from the Central Office of Driving Certification (CBR).
Before the final practical exam, learners have to perform an intermediate practical exam in stopping, turning and parking.
High-speed bicycles with speed limits of 45km/h are required to have number plates. The riders should possess moped driving licenses.

Speed Limits

In general, the speed limits are 50 km/h on the city roads (urban areas) and 80 km/h on other rural roads.
The maximum speed allowed on expressways is 100 km/h and on motorways is 130 km/h
Traffic fines are imposed for speed violations. Speeding above the limits by 3-4 km/h is not fined on most of the roads. On roads where the speed limit is 130 km/h, there is no margin for violation. Even speed of 1 km/h above the limit is fined.
The speed is limited to 30 km/h within built-up areas and 40 km/h outside built-up areas on bicycle or moped tracks.
If excessive speeds are detected, the driver incurs on-the-spot fines.

Road Signs

Priority signs are those that indicate Stop, Start and End of Priority Roads, Give Way.
Warning signs indicate No Entry, Entry Closed to Cycles, Mopeds and Trucks; those that ban entry of vehicles exceeding specified lengths.
Instruction signs are those that ask to Drive Ahead, Keep Right, Turn Right, etc.
Warning signs indicate the presence of Hills, Curves, School Crossings, Tram Crossings, Road Closures, etc.

Read Also: Road Safety Rules In Australia

Traffic Lights

Traffic lights follow the sequence of red, amber, green. An illuminated arrow alongside traffic lights indicates that vehicles can turn only in the direction of the arrow.
Signals with an illuminated picture of a bicycle pertain to bicycle/moped riders.
Signs stating ‘Right turn clear for bicycles and mopeds’ implies the amber and red lights do not apply to them and they can turn right.
Traffic lights for buses and trams follow the white, amber, red sequence where the flashing white light indicates that they can proceed.
At pedestrian crossings, a green light shows that they can cross; flashing green light warns that the light might turn to red soon and red light prevents pedestrians from crossing.

Safety Rules

Drivers and all passengers in the car should wear seat-belts.
Children below the age of 5 and below the height of 1.35m should be seated on safety seats at the rear of the car.
Helmets are to be worn by motorcyclists.
Mobile phones can be used only with a hands-free device. Holding a mobile phone while driving is also considered an offence.

Road Rules

The Dutch drive their vehicles keeping to the right side of the road. They are expected to keep to the extreme right of the road.
Overtaking of vehicles is permitted from the left. Cyclists have to overtake other cyclists from the left. Trams may be overtaken from the right. Vehicles entering a roundabout may overtake from the right.
Drinking and driving is illegal. Drivers who have been in possession of a license for five years or longer are permitted an alcohol level of a maximum of 50 mg/100 ml of blood. If one has held a license for less than five years the tolerance level is 20 mg/100 ml. The alcohol level allowed for scooter and moped drivers under the age of 24 is 20 mg/100 ml.
The DUI law makes operation of a vehicle with even a small amount of (detectable) specific drugs in one’s system illegal. This offence could lead to imprisonment and suspension of licenses for up to five years.
Traffic, including cyclists, approaching from the right has to be given priority unless signs indicate otherwise.
Trams are to be given priority over all other traffic except in areas where sign-posts mention otherwise.
Drivers reversing, performing U-turns, exiting and entering roads must give way to other vehicles at all times.
Drivers are not permitted to execute U-turns or reverse on motorways and highways.
Trailers and heavy vehicles are restricted to using the two right innermost lanes.
Dipped headlights have to be used after dark and in poor visibility conditions.
In cities and built-up areas, headlights can be flashed if necessary; horns can be used only in dangerous situations.
Pedestrians should walk on the pedestrian tracks. Pedestrians should familiarize themselves with the network of bicycle paths as most often they resemble foot-paths.
Cyclists are allowed to ride two abreast.

Parking

P-Zones are parking areas, most of which are metered. Areas with parking meters allow vehicles to be parked for 1-2 hours on paying the charges.
Blue-zone parking in urban areas permits parking on display of time-stamped traffic disc. The discs can be obtained from motor clubs and police stations.
Parking garages allow parking on payment of charges.
Park and Ride spaces are organized parking spaces outside the city limits. Drivers park in these spaces and use public transport to their destinations.
Alongside ‘no parking’ signs, rectangular signs indicate times when parking is restricted in such areas.
Parking is prohibited within five meters from intersections, outside built-up areas, on broken yellow lines and in places obstructing exits and entrances.
Cycles and mopeds are to be parked on pavements, footpaths and areas specifically assigned for parking.
Disabled drivers and invalid carriages are exempted from parking restrictions.
Despite traffic rules, traffic jams are a major occurrence during peak times. The narrow inner roads get congested and traffic spills over on to main highways.
Being wary of cycle riders, while driving, slows the drivers. The government maximizes its efforts to see that the roads are made safer and the drivers are therefore happier.

Road Safety Rules In Australia – All You Need To Know

Posted on February 8, 2019 by TSB Super Admin

Australian driving rules ensure that drivers of all ages drive in the safest possible way. The stringent requirements from obtaining a driving license, detailed traffic signs, driving rules and safety regulations are instituted to assure safer driving habits amongst its drivers.

Australians drive keeping to the left of the road. This is different from some other countries. An overview of the traffic rules and regulations are detailed as follows.

Obtaining a Driving License

The minimum age requirement to obtain a driving license in Australia is 16 years. After passing the test one is qualified for a Learner’s Permit on which he is permitted to drive for two years.

On completion of driving for a minimum of 12 months on a Learner’s Permit, he is eligible to apply for Provisional License – P1.
A driver qualifies for the Provisional License – P2 when he is 18 years and above and has held P1 license for a minimum period of 1 year.
Anyone who is 20 years or older is eligible for the Full Driving License provided he has completed 2 years of driving on his P2 License.

School-Transport-Software--Ensure-enhanced-student-safety

Speed Limits

The maximum speed limit outside built-up areas is 100 km/h and within built-up areas is 50 km/h.
Speed limits of 25 km/h are imposed at school crossings and koala crossings. This speed limit is applicable when passing school buses that have stopped for picking or dropping students or passing emergency vehicles with their lights flashing. In some residential areas, speed limits have been fixed at 40 km/h.
In shared zones where both pedestrians and vehicles are permitted, the speed has to be kept to a minimum of 10 km/h.
Racing and over-speeding are prohibited on the roads. The police confiscate number plates which is equivalent to impounding of the vehicle.

Road Signs

Regulatory – Signs that must be obeyed: Stop; Give way, Speed Limit, No Right/ Left turn.
Warning – Signs that warn of impending hazards or unusual feature on the road: Speed advice at curves and bends, etc.
Direction – Signs that provide information to the driver: distances to places, directions to towns and roads, emergency services, lay-bys, telephones, etc.
Temporary – Signs that caution the driver about work on the road, closed lanes or detours.

Traffic Lanes

A continuous white lane line should not be crossed unless to overtake a cyclist or to avoid any other obstruction.
Bus lanes are denoted by signs. This is for buses, bicycles, taxis and emergency vehicles during the times mentioned on the signs. • ‘Bus Only’ lanes are painted with a red box with ‘Bus Only’ written in white. The lanes are marked by a continuous red line alongside the white lane marking.
Bicycle lanes are colored green and are designated for the exclusive use of bicycle riders.
Transit Lanes are indicated by signs T2 and T3. T2 can be used by any vehicle with two or more passengers including the driver and T3 can be used by vehicles with three or more passengers including the driver.

Traffic Lights

Traffic lights follow the sequence of red, yellow, green.
Most of the traffic lights have arrow lights at the intersections. At a red arrow light, you are not allowed to turn in the direction of the arrow. Yellow arrow cautions the driver about the turn of lights preparing him to stop. Green arrow light permits turn in the direction of the arrow.
When traffic lights are not functional, the rule of Giving Way to the Right or at a T-intersection has to be obeyed wherever applicable.
Signs stating ‘Turn left when the lights are red’ allows the driver to turn left before the lights turn to green after giving way to pedestrians and other vehicles.
Flashing yellow light signals the driver to proceed with caution.
White ‘T’ light is an indication to a tram driver and ‘B’ light is an indication to the bus driver that they may continue to drive or proceed.
Red/Green bicycle lights with symbols indicate to cyclists whether to stop, proceed or wait.
U-turns cannot be made at all intersections unless there is a sign permitting U-turn.
Bicycle storage area or bike box is an area on the road with bicycle symbols painted on it. This area will be painted green. Vehicles are not allowed to enter the storage area when the lights are red.

Safety Rules

Seat belts are to be worn by the driver and all passengers while the vehicle is in motion.
Children between the ages of 6 months to 7 years are to be seated on rear passenger seats. An infant restraint or a child safety seat with harness has to be used.
A child of any age with a medical condition or disability is allowed to sit on the front seat. They should be properly restrained and the driver should carry a medical certificate.
Cyclists, moped and motor scooter drivers are required to wear a helmet and appropriate riding gear.
Usage of mobile phones while driving is not allowed.

Lights

Headlights, rear lights and number plate lights are to be turned on when driving in the dark or when visibility is poor
Driving with only park lights is considered to be an offence.
Headlights can be momentarily flashed on high beam to indicate overtaking.
Lights should be dipped within 200 m of an oncoming vehicle and while nearing the rear of a vehicle.
Hazard lights can be used by drivers in bad weather and to warn other drivers of obstructions.

Driving Rules

It is illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other prescription medicines which impair driving skills. The blood alcohol level should not be in excess of 0.05 %.
Australia follows a zero-tolerance policy for drivers on Provisional Licenses. Zero tolerance is applicable to drivers of taxis, buses and heavy vehicles.
It is advisable to check the local weather conditions if driving long distances. Bush-fires, floods, cyclones could happen anytime.
Overtaking is permitted only where the centre line marking is a single broken line.
While overtaking a road train, allow plenty of distance as the wind rush will pull the vehicle towards it.
Where lanes are not marked, the driver should drive near the left side of the road.
Double unbroken lines can be crossed only in cases of hazards like an accident or fallen tree or when a car is parked illegally.
Give way signs are an integral part of Australian traffic rules. It is important to give way to pedestrians, bicycle riders, buses, trams and trains, vehicles at intersections and roundabouts. Giving way indicates slowing down or if necessary stopping to allow vehicles to proceed safely avoiding collisions.
Freeways or expressways allow movement of vehicles at speeds higher than on normal roads. The right lane must be freed for overtaking. A safe distance from other vehicles has to be maintained at all times. Drivers have to be alert as traffic from behind may move at very high speeds.
A vehicle is not permitted to make U-turns or reverse on a freeway. They are not permitted to stop or park unless in cases of emergencies. Pedestrians, cyclists, animal-drawn vehicles and animals are prohibited from using freeways.
Horns must be used only to warn pedestrians and other vehicles of dangers.

Parking Rules

Parking signs are displayed showing the time duration for which a vehicle can be parked on specific days.
Parking for more than 2 minutes in a No Parking Zone is not allowed. The driver has to remain in or within 3 m of the vehicle if he does stop in this zone.
Pay parking sign allows parking for the duration shown on the signs provided the charges are paid.
While parking on a hill or a curve it has to be ensured that the vehicle is visible to an oncoming vehicle from 100 m away.

On-the-spot fines, demerit points, suspension and disqualification of licenses act as deterrents to the violation of traffic regulations. Adhering to the set of traffic rules makes driving easier and the roads safer.

Student Road Safety and its Relevance in Today’s World

Posted on January 12, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

“Obey traffic rules, the life saving tools”

In essence, you may be well aware of road safety education and its relevance in ensuring student road safety. The question is how is it possible to educate your kids about road safety- providing a systematic safety lesson, organizing safety games, and accompanying your child when they go outdoors.

Are you wondering what road safety education actually is? Here is what you are seeking for:

Road safety education is an educational program about road safety that is given to both children and young people in schools and educational institutions. This safety education encourages the participation of parents and guardians for the purpose of helping children to be safe in traffic. It helps to inculcate safe behaviour in children and young people. And thus become an efficient passenger, pedestrian, cyclists, etc.

Road safety education becomes more effective when you conduct demonstration classes, which match the level of development of youngsters as a responsible road user.

Why is student road safety education important?

“Better to prevent than lament”

You can see how traffic is increasing day by day. Hence, it is your responsibility to teach your children about road safety rules and regulations right from an early age to protect themselves. Earlier, you needn't have to worry about your child as there was not much traffic. But, now things have changed a lot and the number of vehicles is soaring high.

There are so many interesting ways by which you can teach road safety to your children at home as well as in the classroom. A class taken by a police official can be of great help to your children. This is similar to the classes conducted recently by Delhi traffic police as part of Children's Day celebrations. Computer supported training will be more effective for children.

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Goals of student road safety education

Proper understanding of road traffic
Acquire safety skills to survive in traffic
Emphasize their duty to protect themselves on the road
Explain the causes and effects of road crashes
Create a consideration on other's safety

Objectives of student road safety education

To discover and identify the traffic situation well
To judge the visual lead time
To analyse the information received from different directions
To organize perception and action
To make an individual judgement on road traffic situations

Is road Safety education more important than law enforcement?

Though both are different concepts, to students road safety education is more important than law enforcement. Hence, it should be a part of school curriculum for children. Young children are the future of our nation and hence, their protection is undeniably a top concern.

As a parent, you may try to keep your child away from all risks. But, this is not going to work anyway, as they need to be made prepared for the worst. Children and young people are more susceptible to be victims of crashes. This is because of their lack of awareness of essential road safety rules.

When you look deeply, road safety education is a part of law enforcement as law enforcement becomes complete only when citizens follow road safety rules properly.

Relevance of road safety in today's world

A lot of human lives are lost in road related accidents nationwide every year. Road safety is hence important for every student who is planning to drive a vehicle. In 2013, it was reported that 1,37,000 people got killed. It was a record as the death rate caused by accidents is greater than that death caused by wars.

According to the reports, there were 29,989 crashes in the year 2014 itself. These crashes have risen at an alarming rate ever since. If you want to reduce the number of these accidents in the coming years, then it is vital for you to concentrate more on road safety.

To ensure student road safety, they should receive adequate road safety education at the right age in schools and other educational institutions.

WHO and its Global Status Report on road safety 2015

On the basis of information from 180 countries, World Health Organization (WHO) found that about 1.25 million accidental deaths occurred each year. And the greatest number of accidents is reported from low income countries.

Based on the report, in the last 3 years, about 17 countries are reported to have taken strict action against drink driving, child restraints, seat belt, motorcycle helmets, etc. and yet there was no change in the accident death rates. A target has been decided by the members, that is, halving the total number of road accident related deaths and injuries by 2020.

Road safety education in schools

“Speed thrills but kills”

Road safety education is a continuous process, and it is better for you to begin teaching your children about road safety from a young age so that it become inherent in their nature, attitude and ultimately becomes a habit as they grow up.

Before teaching road safety to your students, you should check whether any student has any previous experience on road accidents or injuries. If there is, it will be better for you to have a discussion with their parents or guardians to know whether their child should be excluded from the lesson or not.

Your child should be aware of the dangers awaiting them in the traffic environment and take appropriate safety measures as an efficient road user. This is possible only when you give proper road safety education to them.

Must Read:

10 Important Points on Student Road Safety and Suggestion for Improvements

Key contents of road safety education

There are certain contents that cannot be excluded from the road safety lessons. And such contents are following:

Road safety ABC

It will be better if you include road safety ABC in your lessons. Are you wondering about road safety ABC. Don't worry, here is what you are looking for:

A for awareness (causes and consequences of traffic)

B for behaviour (what are the things you should do to make you safe on the road)

C for choice and campaigning (how will you take proper choice and persuade others to
make choices too)

The Green Cross Code

Want to know more about the Green Cross Code? Here is what you are seeking for:

1. Identify a safe place to cross the road

2. Stop and observe your surroundings before getting into the kerb

3. Look and listen the road traffic carefully

4. Have patience and let the traffic clear out

5. Ensure that the road is clear, go straight across the road, and never run or panic on the road

Road safety for primary school students

Primary school kids are one of the most defenseless road users. What can you do for them? You can help them by developing their skills, demeanor, and conduct for being safe as a passenger, pedestrian and cyclists. They should be given proper supervision for identifying traffic related dangers and establishing safe strategies when they are on the street without any supervision.

Safe road use behavior should be taught and constantly reinforced until the students understand it thoroughly and practice it properly.

When you give road safety education to primary school students, it should:

Emphasize essential road safety messages
Include road safety content in the school syllabus
Be taught regularly at each stage by both parents and teachers
Consider local road safety issues
Never scare your child with frightful consequences

Road safety for secondary school students

Road safety education is edifying, forward-looking and closely linked with development stage of each child. The most efficacious road safety education is created by a good partnership between teachers, road safety officials and parents, each corroborating the others.

As your child moves to upper classes (secondary school), the importance of road safety also gets increased. Most of the secondary school students go to school all by themselves. Sometimes, there will be extracurricular activities in addition to their normal school hours. Also, there is a chance for outing planned with friends, or a trip of their own.

By analysing their behavior, you will be able to know the risk of accidents on secondary school students are greater than that of primary school students. Teenagers are one of the substantial group of road users as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and newly licensed drivers. Their overconfidence and indifference to the rules will lead them to serious trouble.

As you analyse the annual survey report of accidental deaths, you can see that most of the victims are young people. Hence, parents, teachers and other road safety professionals should together make an effort to make them understand about the dangers awaiting them on the road and oversee the risks they confront as road users.

What can you do as a teacher to enhance road safety education in students?

Select the most suitable and relevant resources for improving the road safety skills of your students. This can be done only by you as you are the only person who knows the abilities of each student. You can offer them adequate support to augment their safety behaviours and thus ensure student road safety.

What should you do as a secondary school student to improve your safety skills?

You can take part in a range of activities that help you to understand and mold your road safety habits. And overcome certain safety risks that can harm you. Also, you can make use of resources provided by your concerned teacher.

What should you do as a parent of a secondary student?

You should interact with your child about road safety education and reinforce certain safety messages to make your child safe. As a parent, you can easily persuade them to be a responsible road user.

Road safety campaigns and its effects

Road safety campaigns are useful as it helps to influence behaviours and attitudes of people. But at the same time, WHO also mentions that there is not much reduction in road accidents even after organising campaigns.

When you organize road safety campaigns, there should be involvement of government institutions, non-governmental institutions, non governmental organizations, and mass media. Their support and involvement can make the campaigns successful and effective.

The safety campaigns will be effective if you include lectures and interaction, films on road safety, competitions such as painting competition, quiz competitions, debate competitions etc. on road safety. When you include all these activities, safety campaigns becomes more lively, entertaining, and interesting for students.

Road safety campaigns are far more effective than commercial marketing campaigns. It is different from other campaigns since it influences behaviour rather than encouraging the purchase of a new product or switching to other brands. Today, numerous schools and colleges have started to organize campaigns for ensuring student road safety.

Road Safety Education Program

Purpose of road safety education- best opportunity to manage behaviour change of young people and decrease the number of road accidents among youngsters and children

A road safety education program is a learning program on road safety, which is organized for all citizens of the nation. Every driving school organizes theoretical and practical training for young drivers to enrich them with road safety measures. It also helps to identify the factors that increase the risk of accidents. Hence, you will be able to create a new generation of drivers with a good amount of knowledge on road safety via this program.

The road safety education program aims to:

Create a safe, interdependent and culpable driver
Manage a vehicle effectively
Share the road efficiently
Use the road responsibly
Apply various driving strategies
Train the drivers to obey road signs and traffic signals, manage the vehicle in times of emergencies, take an important decision to ensure road safety, etc.

Road safety education limited

It is a non-profit organisation that transfers you highly efficient and proof based road education programs. The main aim of this organisation is to reduce road related accidents of young people. The Road Safety Education (RSE) Foundation was constituted to fulfil the aims of Road Safety Education Ltd.

Earlier, it was named as Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) and Rotary Youth Driver Awareness Foundation in both Australia and New Zealand. It was in 2012 that the name changed to Road Safety Education Ltd and Road Safety Education Foundation.

Primarily, the name was changed to reflect the mission of the aforesaid organisation to reduce the sufferings and deaths of young drivers.

Student road safety awareness

Road safety is an engaging subject, which involves both children and youngsters. Most of the young people die because of road related crashes. This is because they are careless and unconcerned about road safety rules. Another important reason behind it is the lack of road safety awareness among your kids.

When you give safety awareness, they will be able to understand the basic concepts of road safety and essential safety rules. It is better to include practical experiences and campaigning while taking awareness classes. This will make your class lively, effective, and successful.

You can make the class engaging by including various activities on road safety. Here are certain activities by which you can present before your students to enrich them with road safety:

Conducting a seat belt experiment

Introduce two toy cars before the student crowd: one with the belted teddy bear and the other with an unbelted teddy bear. You can carry out this experiment with slopes and obstacles to reconstruct Indian roads. Through this experiment, you can show them how a belted teddy bear survives without falling and getting hurt.

Experiment with shine torches

You will be able to create a dark environment by closing all the classroom windows and if needed, you can make use of blinds to create more darkness. Then shine torches on student's high visibility vests (brightly coloured vests). And each student will become visible with the help of those bright lights.

And this experiment is a proof showing your kid that they can be made visible before drivers by wearing bright coloured clothes. When they are shown by example, they will certainly understand its significance and be encouraged to do that for the better.

Compose a Road Safety Song

Songs are an excellent way by which you can persuade students to follow safety rules. It will be interesting if you compose a road safety song for your students. Words like stop, go, pavement, hold hands, etc. can be used to make them realistic. Students will not only get entertained by this song, but also learn essential things about road safety by reciting the song along with their pals.

Listen to noises and match the pictures

You can allow your student to listen to various noises on the road and identify it. It can be the noise of the ambulance, car, etc. and you can give the students an opportunity to match the sound with the pictures they hold. This provides an important lesson to them, that is, listen to the noises on the road and thus, be vigilant about the ongoing traffic.

Red light, Green light

This is a kind of game that arouse interest in your students. A student should be chosen as a traffic light and he or she stands in front of the class. Mark a line on the floor, so that the student should cross the line to reach the traffic light. When the traffic light says green, every student should cross the road and when it says red, all the students should turn around.

If anyone is seen moving when the traffic light says red, that particular student should go to back to the classroom and start the game once again. And the student who reaches the traffic light first, become the next traffic light.

A lot of things can be taught through this activity. Your students will be able to gain adequate knowledge about different traffic lights and its importance, such as 'red to stop' and 'green to move'.

Lesson on traffic

Take a lesson on 'what is meant by traffic'. After this lesson, your students will be able to describe what traffic and vehicles are, identify vehicles based on its size, and recognize pictures of traffic. You can also ask them to name various traffic signs and what it signifies.

All the above activities make your awareness program appealing and successful. Road safety awareness helps to develop your student's existing knowledge on road safety and protect them from road related dangers.

Rewards for student safety

It will be a great idea, if you reward those students who obey road safety rules flawlessly. This will encourage your students to follow rules and execute it at the right time. A notable example is the student road safety awards organized by Paul Kerr. The main aim of this initiative is to give student safety awards and attribute road safety awareness among youngsters.

Paul Kerr organized this initiative in memory of his son, Jon Paul. Jon died at the age of 17, which is driven by an 18 year old driver who got license just two weeks before. The scheme was introduced for motivating the children aged between 11 and 18 to create an exclusive project on improving road safety awareness.

The most innovative project will be given awards sponsored by Peugeot (French car manufacturing company) along with the support of Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). This serves a good model for enhancing road safety education among your kids and also, you can organize activities that will encourage students to expose their road safety skills and behaviours.

Roads are something that needs to be shared with everyone. Your behaviour or attitudes as a pedestrian, cyclist or driver should be administered with a sense of care and respect towards your fellow road users.

Students are the ones who violate rules more than anyone. One of the prime thing that you should teach them is to never consider a road as a playground. Your responsibility is to give your kid road safety education at the right age, which help them to ensure their own safety.

“Drive carefully to live joyfully”

10 Strategies that Keep Your Children Safe on Road

Posted on October 6, 2016 by TSB Super Admin

Even with the rapid technological advancement, it is a sad truth that your children are not safe on the road. Your child may sometimes get lost or severely injured in the heavy traffic existing today. Road accidents or injuries may result in endless suffering and grief; and ultimately leading to economic destitution for the concerned families and friends.

Often, students become the victim of this man-made disaster. As a responsible citizen, it is your responsibility to make genuine efforts for student road safety. Safer roads for all, means safer roads for your children.

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10 Important Points on Student Road Safety and Suggestion for Improvements

Here are the ten strategies that keep your children safe on the road:

1. Keep your Vehicle Speed under Control

Speed is the major reason for every road related accidents and injuries. Overspeed of vehicles near the school area can put student road safety at risk. The following are certain strategies that help to reduce vehicle speed:

You can set and enforce speed limits suitable for each road type
When there are more pedestrians on the road, you can try to drive your vehicle at a speed of 30km/hr
By using automatic speed cameras, you will be able to set speed limits
Improving roads by using features such as traffic lights, speed bumps, signboards etc. helps you to limit the vehicle speed

2. Avoid Drinking and Driving

When you drink and drive, remember that you are posing a huge safety risk on your children as pedestrians, cyclists or passengers. Alcohol consumption can usher into road crash, injury, or even death. When blood alcohol concentration(BAC) is above 0.04 g/dl, risk of crashes also rises abnormally.

Some of the strategies that can be employed to avoid drinking and driving are as follows:
You can set separate BAC limit for young drivers as well as older drivers. For young drivers, you can set 0.02 g/dl and for older drivers, it should be 0.05 g/dl
By sobriety checkpoints and breath testing, you will be able to enforce drinking and driving laws
You will be able to control the sale of alcohol by putting a minimum purchase age and adjusting their hours of operation
Restrict the marketing of alcohol to children

3. Making Use of Helmets while Riding a Two-Wheeler

In order to reduce the risk of head injuries in accidents, you can advise your children to wear a helmet whenever they start off a journey in two-wheelers. It was found in a survey that use of helmets:

can help you to reduce head injuries by 69%
prevent death by 40%
will help you to reduce risk of serious head injury by more than 70%

Here follows some strategies which will help you to promote the usage of helmets at the time of riding a two wheeler:

Directing and imposing motorcycle helmet laws

You will be able to provide standards for the manufacture of a helmet and give more priority for kids' helmets
Ensure accessibility and affordability of helmets to those who need them
You can take initiatives like distributing free or discounted helmets to those children who cannot afford them

4. Curbing Children in Vehicles

Restraints can prevent your children from serious injuries caused by crashes. Some of the examples of restraints include booster seats, common seat belts, infant car seats, and child car seats. These are installed on the basis of age, weight, and height of your child. Booster seats can reduce 59% of injuries caused due to road traffic crashes.

The following are certain strategies you can adopt to increase the usage of restraints:

You can make child restraints laws, mandatory for all private vehicles
Standardization of child restraint manufacture
Make child restraints available and reasonable for all those who need them
To assure safety of your children, you can persuade manufacturers to have plug-in attachments
Awareness classes can be conducted regarding the use of restraints and to promote child restraint loan schemes

5. Improving Visibility of Children

Seeing and being seen is very important to road safety, especially, in the case of children, who are more unsafe than elders.

Some of the strategies given below will help to improve visibility of your children:

Make your children wear bright clothes when they are out on the road
Advise your children to always accompany adult people
You can make use of headlamps along with front, rear, and wheel reflectors
Improve street lighting

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Importance of Student Road Safety Education

6. Ameliorating Road Infrastructure

By modifying and building new road infrastructure, you will be able to improve student road safety and reduce the risk of accidents.

Here follows certain strategies you can follow to improve road infrastructure:

Traffic lights, speed humps, zebra crossings, street lighting, flyovers, etc. are some of the essential measures you can espouse for improving road infrastructure
Certain mechanisms such as raised platforms for ramblers, lanes specially made for pedestrians and cyclists, construction of median barriers etc. can be implemented for improved road infrastructure
You can make car free areas for enhancing the safety of pedestrians
Launch school safety zones
For superior safety of your children, select play zones away from road
Financing for safe public transport to ensure your child's safety

7. Altering Vehicle Design

Vehicle designs have a substantial role to play in guaranteeing student road safety. Most of the vehicle safety measures have the potential to safeguard your children.

Certain strategies you can follow in vehicle design that directly contribute to student road safety include:

Compulsory installation of energy absorbing crumple zones in your vehicles
Reconstruction of your vehicle fronts to make it more “pedestrian friendly”
Installation of the alcohol interlock system to prevent drinking habit of drivers. Mounting alarms and cameras inside the bus for monitoring your children constantly

8. Minimizing Risks for Young Drivers

Young drivers are a major reason for most of the crashes. Rash driving, carelessness, and alcohol consumption can hinder your child's safety. The following strategies can have a remarkable impact on the safety of your children:

Reducing BAC levels for young drivers
You can designate an adult driver to teach young drivers
Strictly tell them not to go for night time driving
Warn them that you will not tolerate any criminal offense or bad habits

9. Proffering Genuine care for Injured Children

Providing right emergency care and recovery services at the right time is the first step you have to take for improving road safety of children. Some of the strategies by which you can improve the care of injured children are given below:

Impart education to teachers as well as caretakers to take immediate care and
facilitate transportation services to those children who are injured
Training hospital authorities to deliver basic treatment needs for injured children
Equipping emergency vehicles with adequate medical facilities and supplies
Making a hospital as child-friendly as possible
Enhancing access to counselling services for directing your children at the time of injury

10. Administering Children around Roads

As you know, young children will not have the ability to evaluate risk awaiting them. You have a great role to play in guiding children around roads. They should be aware of what is happening around them. Appropriate guidance can avoid the chance of causing accidents to your children.

̋ The future of a country is its young people. We cannot afford to lose our children to road traffic crashesˮ

It is possible to avert road related accidents and injuries. Mostly students become the victims as they have little awareness regarding road safety. Thus, it is each of your responsibility to protect students and give them appropriate guidance at the right time.

Importance of Student Road Safety Education

Posted on September 28, 2016 by TSB Super Admin

Road safety education is very much essential in today’s world as road traffic is becoming increasingly busy. Years ago, it was safe for your child to travel on the road without a care, but things have changed since then. Now there are more cars, scooters, motorbikes, buses etc. on the road.

Most of the educational institutions now organize road safety education for improving student road safety. This will contain educational activities that help you to gain more knowledge about road safety.

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You should give appropriate education regarding student road safety to children as well as young ones to let them be aware about road safety and the importance of learning it. Just like other social things, road safety education is necessary and it should be started right from your kid’s childhood.

How can you give road safety education effectively?

As a parent, you will always try to wrap your children in your arms and take them away from all risky situations. By providing proper road safety education, you will be able to protect your child away from dangers caused by road accidents. You can give them certain facts, show the possible dangers and risks involved, explain ways to keep them safe and develop their skills in understanding consequences.

There are many interesting ways by which you can teach your children about road safety. You can create a traffic environment for your children, allow them to ride their own bikes or scooters and learn the rules of the road. Also, you can organize classes taken by police officials to make your children be aware of basic road safety rules.

“You are never too young to learn”

You may be well aware of road safety programs, but do you know how important it is to your life? Let’s check it out:

In most of the foreign countries, road safety education is considered as a necessary education. It will be better, if you provide basic road safety education by bringing it to early childhood, primary and secondary schools
Your children will get an overall idea about the principles of crossing road, importance of helmets, how to use zebra crossings and awareness of basic safety rules. Through this education, you will be provided with knowledge and awareness about the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and passengers
Education on student road safety can encourage you to take necessary action that will make your children safe, secure and thereby help them to have awareness about road safety. In road safety education, you have a vital role to play in forming and developing various skills related to road safety

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You will be able to know about your child’s developmental skill and ability to distinguish between passenger, pedestrian, low traffic and heavy traffic. As a parent, your participation in safety programs can make it more effective and successful
As a parent, your role will have a great significance in safety programs. You can become a good role model to your children by wearing a seat belt while driving, reducing unnecessary speeding, avoiding careless driving, taking care of other passengers and pedestrians. This can have a positive impact on child’s mind as they can follow you easily and thus get adequate supervision on road
By conducting safety programs, you will not only be able to create awareness among the younger ones, but also among elders about the traffic strategies
With the safety programs, you can reduce the number of injuries and deaths caused by road accidents. Involvement of road safety professionals helps you to better plan and support road safety programs and provide proper training to your children. For creating better awareness, you can seek the aid of internet facility

Consequences and Solutions to Consider:

Road accidents are the leading cause of death and hospitalisation in today’s world. It’s not unusual that your children become the victim of road related injuries. You will be able to solve this issue by providing proper road safety education to your children. Also, you should learn to use road responsibly and make your children be aware of the road system from an early age.

Road safety education plays a vital role in shaping the attitude and behavior of children as well as young people, thereby ensuring that they become a responsible driver, passenger, pedestrian, and cyclist.

Help your child to be a safer road user

10 Important Points on Student Road Safety and Suggestion for Improvements

Posted on August 30, 2016 by TSB Super Admin

Road safety education is vital for people of all ages. As a responsible citizen, you should be aware of each and every road safety rules. Observation is the key skill you need in ensuring road safety. Safety education begins right from your school. By obeying safety rules and regulations, you can save yourself and others on the road.

Today, student road safety is given more priority than earlier. Students are the future of a country and hence as a citizen, it is your responsibility to protect them.

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Here follows 10 important points on the road safety and certain suggestions for improvement:

1. Awareness of Traffic Signs

There are different types of traffic signs you should know about. Some of them are discussed below:

Hand Signals

Hand signals help you to avoid so many confusions as well as accidents. Some of the basic hand signals are: right hand swinging up and down with your palm facing downwards to slow down the vehicle, raising your forearm vertically outside to stop the vehicle and swinging the right arm forward and backward in a semicircular motion to allow the vehicle behind you overtake.

Direction Indicators

Direction indicators are very much useful for you, especially during night time travelling. One of the greatest advantages of direction indicators is that it is easier to recognize.

Traffic Signs and Symbols

Every important junction has traffic lights indicating different meaning that allow safe walking and travelling. You should be able to know some of the essential traffic signs for u-turn, one way, hospitals, schools, prohibited zones, no horn area etc. to avoid hazards.

Lanes of the Road

It is better for you to stay on the left side of the road at all times. When you are changing lanes, signal others by means of hand signals and direction indicators. Also you can avoid regular lane changing.

2. Speeding Limit

By setting permissible speed limit, you will be able to control traffic and thus ensure student road safety. Police officials are now making use of automated machines to track the speed of vehicles. And they can impose penalty on people who are violating the speed limit.

In addition to this, you can install speed witness radars in high traffic areas and highways which works on the Doppler effect principle which gives the exact speed of every moving vehicle.

3. Always Wear your Shields

Seat belts should be made compulsory for ensuring student road safety. You can persuade students using two wheelers to use helmets to avoid unwanted head injuries.

4. Maintenance of Your Vehicle

Before taking vehicle to the road, it is necessary for you to check the condition of vehicles. You should check out the petrol/diesel limit, bald tyres, glass wipers etc. carefully.

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5. Implement the Driver Violation Point System

This system is designed to identify and take action against high risk drivers. Certain points are given for various traffic violations such as reckless driving, speeding, use of cell phones while driving, inadequate brakes, not using seat belts etc. and also it is recorded in the driving record. Based on these records, you can suspend or revoke license of drivers who violate traffic regulations.

6. Awareness through Hoardings

You can make use of hoardings to display traffic rules as it easily grabs attention of people. When people see it everyday, even the ones who don’t have much education on the road safety will come to know about it. Such messages prove effective and helps to avoid careless accidents.

7. Benefit of Drivers

Vehicle insurance is having more importance and should be made mandatory for driving on the road. This helps you to claim for accident recovery and offer you another vehicle in times of damage or fire. Public transport drivers will be given a regular eye check up free of cost. When you provide benefits, they will try to drive carefully.

8. Design of the Vehicle

Safety design of the vehicle helps to reduce accidents and is necessary at the time of choosing a vehicle. Some vehicles will be designed in a way that help you to absorb the crash impact. This helps you to ensure student road safety.

9. Proper road Maintenance and Warnings

It is difficult for you to drive in Indian roads during the rainy season. Hence roads should be constructed by keeping in mind a lifespan of at least 5 to 6 years. This can help to reduce the amount spent for repairing roads. Warning signs in vehicles should be shown in big letters so that others can see it properly and move accordingly.

10. Time management

Improper time management can lead you to speed driving, which in turn result in serious injuries to yourself as well as others on the road. Hence it is better to reach your destination earlier than the scheduled time so as to avoid the dangers.

Rules are created to maintain uniformity in people and hence you should strictly follow safety rules and regulations to lead a safer and happier life. Proper guidance and support can help you ensure student road safety.

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Ways Students Play a Role in Road Safety

Posted on August 16, 2016 by TSB Super Admin

“Safety is not an intellectual exercise to keep us in work. It is a matter of life and death. It is the sum of our contributions to safety management that determines whether the people we work with live or die”

– Sir Brian Appleton

It will be better to start learning good safety habits right from an early age. Nowadays you will be witnessing so many road accidents, injuries and eventual death caused by these nasty accidents. By properly following various road safety measures, you can prevent a number of road accidents and injuries. As students are the future of country, they also have a duty to make roads safer and hence they play a vital role in ensuring road safety.

As a student, you will be able to implement your innovative ideas regarding road safety and thus constitute a right direction for bettering the future. Creating a safe road should be your first priority. You can conduct awareness programs in the public and can extend a helping hand to traffic police in controlling the traffic especially during rush hours.

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Today, student road safety is a huge issue to handle. The following are the three main roles played by students in matters of road safety:

1. Model Road Users: Firstly, you act as a model road user by closely following the rules and regulations related to road safety. You represent the future of a nation and hence you can set an example and at the same time motivate others. For this, you need to have determination to try and impart different road safety measures.

2. Road Safety Educators: Once you know about how to be a model user, you will be able to educate unenlightened and illiterate people. Most of the people are unaware of basic traffic rules, you can offer them help by teaching those basic traffic rules and regulations. You can also make them aware of various consequences resulted by not following those orders.

3. Pressure Groups:You can act as part of interest group by virtue of your knowledge, experience and passion for road safety. This is the reason by which student road safety education is introduced in the curriculum of secondary education.

Safer Roads

When you think about safer roads, the things that comes to your mind are road dividers, zebra crossings, parking slots, road safety sign boards, traffic booths and awareness programmes. Wrong parking, over speeding, and crossing the roads at wrong spots are some of the traffic violations you may witness. As a student, you can give a helping hand in traffic management and thus prevent so many traffic violations.

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Money, power and political influences can negatively affect the enforcement of traffic rules. As a model group, you can overcome these barriers, create public healthy opinion against those barriers and thus make the road safe for all.

Safe roads help you have a safe return home and thus lead a happy and cheerful life. This can significantly improve the quality of your life. Hence, you should fulfill your part well as a responsible citizen and achieve road safety in order to constitute a better world.

Don't put your life on the line. Think safety!!!!!

Usually students used to have a great enthusiasm on any rebellious subject. They are the ones who get easily inspired and engage in challenging or adventurous task. Student road safety is a matter of great concern for students. When they actively participate in road safety programmes, elders get encouraged and make the programme successful. Hence, they do play a vital role in disaster management and thus assists in getting out the victims as fast as possible.

To get the PDF version of this blog : Download Here