Road safety: Students learn the dangers of blind spots!

Road safety: Students learn the dangers of blind spots!

Especially when strolling through town or on the way to school, carefree children's play can quickly become dangerous when it comes to the prejudices of road traffic. In his article, Ulli Scharrer addresses the explosive issue of blind spots, which is particularly addressed in the discussion about the safety of children in traffic. The extent to which children are often overlooked was recently made clear at a practical workshop in Straubing, where students in the 3rd and 4th grades were able to experience for themselves how severely restricted the field of vision of vehicle drivers, especially trucks, is. The blind spot poses real dangers when turning – for pedestrians, cyclists and of course the little ones among us.

Students gathered around a truck to get a look at the surrounding area from the driver's seat. The impressive impressions literally jumped out at the children's faces: a truck driver, for example, cannot see pedestrians or cyclists who are in his blind spot. Measures that create awareness of these risks and underline the importance of safety in traffic are all the more important. Surprisingly, it became clear in the demonstration that when the truck turns from certain positions, more than 20 children are not in the driver's field of vision, such as during a similar action in Salzburg, where the state initiated the “blind spot” safety campaign for school students. Salzburg reported on this important initiative, which particularly addresses the dangers for children.

A big concern

The question of how children can stay safe in traffic concerns not only experts, but also parents, teachers and traffic planners. Training on blind spots is a valuable addition to traffic education. They make children aware of the risks they take when they are near large vehicles. This leads to a better understanding of road safety and promotes a sense of responsibility in road traffic.

At the same time, organizations like the Children's accident assistance Raising awareness of this problem through training courses that promise more safety for children in road traffic. This initiative explains that understanding blind spots is the first step to being more cautious before children travel independently on the road.

The preventive measures are an example of how the issue of traffic safety can be addressed in public spaces. Such campaigns should therefore not only take place once a year, but should receive more attention on an ongoing basis in order to enable our youngest children to deal safely with dangerous traffic situations.