Parents and kids are being encouraged to go places hand in hand as part of a new child pedestrian safety campaign being launched today.
Hand in Hand. Let's go places is a campaign created by QUT's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q) following a statewide survey of parents focused on keeping kids safe around roads and cars.
"Our latest safety campaign is all about kids - children aged 3 to 9 who are at risk of becoming involved in pedestrian/vehicle crashes," CARRS-Q researcher Dr Alexia Lennon said.
"Research has shown us that, until the age of about nine, children's perceptual and cognitive abilities are not sufficiently developed to allow them to make sound judgements when they're crossing roads.
"It's hard for them to judge vehicle distances and speeds. What's more, many crashes occur when they are unsupervised, or they impulsively run out between parked cars."
The new capaign was launched at Mackay Central State School as part of Queensland Road Safety Week.
Featuring posters, flyers, videos and a children's activity sheet, the aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the risks but, more importantly, provide some helpful strategies and suggestions on what they can do to help keep kids safe on and around roads and carparks.
Dr Lennon said the campaign was the result of feedback from more than 220 Queensland parents who took part in a recent CARRS-Q study.
"While holding hands is the ideal safety strategy, parents told us that often this is difficult if they have more than one child, or their hands are full with bags or prams," Dr Lennon said.
"By asking your child to hold on to something else attached to you, for example a bag strap or pram, parents can keep hold of their child until they are somewhere safe."
CARRS-Q research showed that, while parents will usually hold the hands of younger children, they are less likely to do so when the children are a little older, when they're simply walking along the footpath, when they're in what appears to be a quiet street or when they're in a carpark.
"We are asking parents to remember, that crossing roads is a complex activity and children's brains simply aren't up to the task until they're around nine. So even if your child wants to be all grown up, it's just not safe to give in," Dr Lennon said.
This campaign is an initiative of CARRS-Q and supported by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission and the RACQ.
Campaign materials, including posters, videos and activity sheets can be found at www.carrsq.qut.edu.au/handinhand.
Media contact:
Sandra Hutchinson, QUT Media (Tue, Wed), 07 3138 9449 or media@qut.edu.au
After hours, Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901
