Going to school safely: Child protection pass strengthens children's traffic skills

Going to school safely: Child protection pass strengthens children's traffic skills

In Kaiserslautern, the safety of the youngest road users is very important. For over 30 years, Sparkasse Kaiserslautern has been committed to offering children more competence and safety in road traffic with the free child protection pass. Hartmut Rohden, deputy chairman of the Sparkasse, emphasizes that this commitment aims to move away from the widespread phenomenon of “parent taxis”. Instead, the first graders should learn to manage their way to school independently. An important step in this direction are the approximately 2,500 child protection passes that will be distributed to first graders in the city and district of Kaiserslautern from mid-August 2025, as nachrichten-kl.de reports.

The child protection pass, which is bright yellow and about the size of a credit card, has a central role: It is intended to provide quick help in an emergency and contains important information for notifying parents or the school. Andrea Brunnett, Marketing Manager at Sparkasse, emphasizes the social responsibility to protect children. Supporting programs such as the “Yellow Feet” campaign and the bicycle pass promote the roadworthiness of the little ones and make them fit for the challenges of road traffic.

Safe routes to school for children

The introduction of the child protection pass comes at the right time, because according to the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), a total of 27,235 children had accidents in road traffic in 2023, with 44 children losing their lives - tragic numbers that call for action. Road safety for children remains a central issue, overshadowed by the urgency of providing parents with practical information through projects such as the German Road Safety Council's “Child and Traffic” program. bmv.de supports such initiatives and advocates for road safety.

Anja Pfeiffer, councilor for the city of Kaiserslautern, and Gudrun Heß-Schmidt, first district councilor, are calling for a rethink when it comes to the use of “parent taxis”. Heß-Schmidt describes the child protection pass as a bit more security in the school bag. District Administrator Ralf Leßmeister also emphasizes the importance of the pass, especially in areas with high traffic. He suggests that the topic of “safe routes to school” be increasingly integrated into lessons in order to give children the necessary traffic skills at an early stage.

Together for more security

The distribution of the child protection pass to schools is organized by dedicated traffic consultants such as Julia Coressel and Carola Wassmann. The police, represented by police chief inspectors Tina Sornberger and Elli Berberich, are grateful for the continuation of this valuable project. They also refer to the youth traffic school, which teaches children about the safety-relevant aspects of road traffic.

The initiators' concerns are clear: To ensure that no child is put in danger on the way to school, prevention and education are required at all levels. With the child protection pass, Sparkasse Kaiserslautern is setting an important accent for more safety and self-confident children on the streets of our city. The way to school is now a bit safer.