Recently an incident occurred on one of my driving lessons just after the Maypole roundabout near the Kings Heath test centre, during which my pupil had to take evasive action due to a small child of no more than 6 years of age running straight across a pelican crossing that was showing a green light to drivers. Fortunately, my pupil had reduced her speed on approach to the crossing, in anticipation of such an incident. But many drivers would not have, and the consequences could have been horrific.
This got me thinking about how road safety education seems to have changed over the years. Nowadays we are quite likely to see adverts targeted towards drivers. For example drink/drive campaigns, kill your speed and beware of bikers are a few that crop up from time to time. The emphasis is always on the driver. But there seems to be very little high profile road safety education for pedestrians (although many local authorities do have various initiatives within schools). This hasn’t always been the case as this video clip shows. Although it’s simplistic in its approach, I and many of my friends still remember the ad clearly, and the message has stuck with us throughout our lives, despite us being incredibly young when it first aired on TV.
A number of my pupils have commented recently on how learning to drive has made them better pedestrians, giving them a better understanding of the responsibilities they have to keep themselves safe whilst walking. If the above and other similar video clips were still being aired (or at least updated versions of them) they may appeal to the younger pedestrian, and who knows, maybe save some lives.
