Going to school safely: Bad Weißenstadt starts an important project for children

Going to school safely: Bad Weißenstadt starts an important project for children

The “Safe to School” project has been launched in Bad Weißenstadt, which aims to effectively reduce accidents involving school children. The start took place in the elementary school and was accompanied by prominent guests, including the school district director Günter Tauber, Herbert Fischer from the Fichtelgebirge traffic police and mayor Matthias Beck. All three spoke forcefully to the school starters and emphasized the importance of safety on the way to school. Due to the alarming statistics that an accident involving children occurs every 19 minutes in Germany, such a project is more necessary than ever.

The initiative brings together various key players, including the school authority, the city, the traffic police, the savings bank and the police. Together they work to ensure that children get to school safely. It is not only important to reduce the dangers in road traffic, but also to raise children's awareness of road safety.

Important support from school helpers

The topic of safety on the way to school is of burning interest throughout Germany. A thank you event by the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district traffic police took place on September 10, 2025, in which around 70 school helpers and 20 guests of honor from politics, schools and the police took part. This event honored volunteer trailblazers who have been serving for up to 20 years and highlighted their vital role. Deputy District Administrator Sabine Schneider praised the commitment of the school helpers and made it clear how important they are for the safety of the children.

In Bavaria the results are impressive: for 45 years there have been no serious injuries or fatal accidents involving school children at secured crossings. Nevertheless, more support is needed. Jürgen Schermbach from the district traffic police is therefore calling for new school helpers to be recruited, especially young parents.

Another aspect of the safety initiative is the education of children. From September 16th to 24th, 2024, for example, there was a school bus training course for those starting school, in which around 1,000 students took part. They learned how to behave at the bus stop, while driving and when getting on and off - important skills for recognizing and avoiding dangers such as the infamous "blind spot".

Parent taxis and traffic fears

The safety of school routes is also a concern for parents. An ADAC survey of 3,395 parents revealed interesting insights. 44% of those surveyed are worried about the misbehavior of other road users. Carelessness and speeding top the list of worries. Although more than half of parents generally consider the route to school to be safe, they are concerned about school bus services and students cycling, which are often based on older and inadequately maintained school route plans.

A big topic here is the so-called parent taxis. 41% of parents who take their children to school by car see these as causes of dangerous traffic conditions. There is growing interest in better structured pick-up and drop-off zones directly near schools. Positive voices also highlight the emergency islands that offer help to children if they feel threatened.

85% of parents consider practicing together in traffic to be important, which shows that families and educational institutions alike strive to make an active contribution to traffic safety. The ADAC and the ADAC Foundation offer support for parents, children and teachers in order to tackle this issue together and strengthen the traffic skills of younger people.

It remains to be seen how the “Safe to School” project in Bad Weißenstadt can contribute to improving the security situation, but the first steps are promising and provide a solid basis for future initiatives.