One-fifth of families in the Czech Republic use their cars regularly to transport children to schools. This was shown by a survey conducted by Škofin.
At least, only nine percent of parents transport their children to school by car in Prague. On the other hand, children living in small municipalities with up to 1000 inhabitants carry the family car (35 percent of families).
Just two decades ago, only two percent of children regularly drove to school, with 59 percent traveling on foot and 36 percent of schoolchildren using public transport.
“Today it is very different. About 37 percent of children go to school on foot and another 27 percent by bus or tram,” said the road safety team.
Fears of an accident
On the contrary, nothing has changed over the years that, at the beginning of the school year, there are police officers at every crossing near schools and make sure that children cross the road safely. Yet more and more parents do not hesitate to drive schoolchildren by car. They are usually led to fear of a possible accident if the child walks.
“There is a real danger for a child in the form of crossing busy roads in places where there are no pedestrian crossings or traffic is not controlled by traffic lights,” says Markéta Novotná, a method of traffic education from the Road Safety Team.
“The smallest ones may encounter complications that the adult does not perceive. After all, what a tall adult can see at a glance can remain hopelessly hidden from the first-graders through the parked vehicles,” Novotná added.
Reflective elements for walking
It is therefore good to explain in detail to the child where to go and where to go. And it is definitely necessary to ensure that drivers can see them sufficiently in road traffic. It provides brightly colored clothing.
“It should be remembered that the autumn sleet is approaching. Bright fluorescent colors lose their advantage in the dark. Only reflective accessories will help. There is a sufficient selection of clothing with reflective fabrics on the market, and reflective pendants or belts are suitable accessories. Children will not resist wearing them, quite the contrary,” said Novotná.