Back to School Safety Tips

Media Release: Back to School Safety Tips

Thousands of students are marching back to school next month. Safekids Aotearoa has valuable safety tips to keep children safe.

For children

· They’re safer in a booster seat till they’re 148cm tall. Primary school children seated in booster seats in the back seat of the car are 59% less likely to be injured in a crash than children using a seat belt alone.

· No helmet, no brain. Wearing safety helmets when cycling, scootering or skateboarding to school is a must. For cyclists, aside from being a law, wearing a helmet reduces the risk of severe brain injury by 74%.

· Devices down heads up when crossing the road. Avoid digital distraction—teach children to remove their earphones when crossing the road, and to stop walking if they need to use their phone.

· Watch out for sneaky driveways. If you can’t see the driveway from the footpath, remember to stop and look to make sure there are no cars exiting the driveway.

· Have a school travel plan. Teach children to use a safe route to school and to be aware of dangers when walking, cycling or scootering. Closely supervise new entrants when walking to school for the first time.

For drivers

· Double check intersections and crossings. A child might dart across the street when you least expect it. They are also pretty hard to see in between parked cars. Stopping at intersections and slowing down in high pedestrian traffic areas will give you time to check if your path is clear of children.

· Slow down at school zones. 30-40kph variable speed limit zones will be operational again during school commute hours, and drivers are required to slow down when the lights are on or the signs are up. And even when they are off, be extra vigilant—an evening event or a weekend game might be on, so you still need to watch out for kids.

· Passing school buses: Either way it's 20kph. If a school bus has stopped the law requires you to slow down and drive at 20km/h or less until you are past itno matter which direction you are driving.

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Nga Awhina Haumaru mo te Hoki ki te kura

He tini ngā ākonga ka hoki ki te kura ā tērā marama. He tino āwhina haumaru ā Safekids Aotearoa kia haumaru ai ngā tamariki.

Mā ngā tamariki

· Ka haumaru ake rātau ki tētahi tūru whakapiki tamariki kia eke rā anō rātau ki te 148cm te tāroa. He 59% te iti ake o te tūpono whara o ngā tamariki kura tuatahi e noho ana i tētahi tūru whakapiki tamariki i muri ki te tuki tēnā i te tamaiti mau tātua waka anake.

· Kāhore he pōtae mārō, kāhore he roro. Me mātua mau pōtae mārō ina eke pahikara, papaneke, papa hirere rānei ki te kura. Mō ngā kaieke pahikara, i tua i te whakaritenga ture, ka whakaiti te mau pōtae mārō i te tūponotanga o te wharanga roro nui mā te 74%.

· Waiho ngā pūrere, me mataara te whakawhiti i te huarahi. Kaua e warea ki te pūrere - tohutohuhia ngā tamariki ki te tango i ā rātau orotaringa ina whakawhiti i te huarahi, ā, me tū ina whakamahi ana i te waea.

· Kia tūpato i ngā arawaka huna. Ki te kore koe e kite i te arawaka mai i te ara hīkoi, me maumahara ki te tū ka tirotiro haere kia mātua mōhio ai koe kāhore he waka e puta mai ana i te arawaka.

· Me whai i tētahi mahere haere kura. Ākona ngā tamariki ki te whai ara haumaru ki te kura, ā, kia mōhio hoki ki ngā mōrearea ina hīkoi, eke pahikara, papaneke rānei. Me āta ārahi i ngā pīpī paopao ina hīkoi ana rātau ki te kura i te wā tuatahi.

Mā ngā kaihautū waka

· Me āta tirotiro i ngā rīpekatanga me ngā whakawhititanga. Kei ohorere te oma mai a te tamaiti ki runga i te tiriti. Ka uaua hoki te kite i a rātau i waenga waka e tū ana. Mā te tū i ngā rīpekatanga me te āta haere i ngā wāhi e pokea ana e te kaihīkoi ka whai wā koe ki te tirotiro mēnā kei te wātea tō ara i te tamariki.

· Me āta haere i ngā rohe kura. Ka whakaritea anō te tepenga tere o te 30-40kph i ngā haora haere ki/i te kura, ā, me āta haere ngā kaihautū waka ina kā ana ngā rama, ina tū rānei ngā tohu pānui. Ahakoa kei te weto me tūpato - tērā pea ka tū he hui i te ahiahi, he kēmu i te mutunga wiki rānei, nō reira me tūpato koe i ngā tamariki.

· Te hipa pahi kura: He 20kph te tere. Mēnā kei te tū tētahi pahi kura i raro i te ture me āta haere koe, ā, he 20kph tō tere, iti ake rānei kia hipa rā nō koe - ahakoa tō ahunga.

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