It is important to remember that children are not just small adults. Children are developing physically and mentally and have many characteristics that make them vulnerable near traffic.
Vision: A young child's peripheral vision is about two-thirds of adult’s. Children may not have the ability to see a car or obstacle that the adult next to them sees.
Hearing: Children have acute hearing, but have difficulty localizing sound. This means that they have difficulty determining the direction from which a sound is coming. Children may be unaware that the sound of a vehicle they hear is moving towards them.
Mental Development: Many characteristics of children increase their risk of injury when they are near traffic.
- Children lack a sense of danger.
- Children may be impulsive, easily distracted and impatient.
- Children are not good at judging the speed and distance of approaching vehicles.
- A child may not have the ability to process all the pieces of information necessary to make safe decisions while near traffic, despite being taught correct safety practices.
- Older children may participate in more risk-taking behaviours.
Needing to wait for a traffic signal, being distracted by friends at the upcoming park, or misjudging the speed of an approaching vehicle in an intersection are just a few examples of how a young child may act in an unsafe manner due to their developmental stage.
Physical Development: Balance, strength and coordination are required to safely ride a bike. Children grow rapidly in spurts and because of this they often do not have an accurate awareness of their body size, abilities and limitations; this increases a child’s risk of falling while on a bicycle. A child’s developing motor skills also reduces the ability to avoid obstacles such as holes in the road, pedestrians and other cyclists.
I hear, I know. I do, I understand
Children will remember 90 percent of what they do, but only 20 percent of what they hear. Children need to be taught the skills required for traveling safely in traffic as a cyclist; however, teaching children safety behaviour is not enough. Traffic safety skills and behaviour will develop best if children are given opportunities to practice. Children need to practice and experience what they are taught about traffic safety, just as they practice what they learn in school. Children do not master skills in one day and as they grow older, developmental stages will indicate appropriate new practices regarding traffic safety.