Road safety experts reveal best age for children to walk to school solo

EXPERTS have warned school children should be a certain age before pounding the pavement without their parents and younger children risk being severely injured or killed when crossing roads.

Solway Primary School promotes National Walk Safely to School Day to students, including Rebecca, 9, Sam, 10, Lucy, 9 and Remy, 10. Picture: Jason Edwards

SCHOOL children should be 10-years-old before pounding the pavement without their parents, road safety experts have claimed.

They say that younger children risk being severely injured or killed when crossing roads without adult supervision.

The Pedestrian Council of Australia said ahead of National Walk Safely to School Day on Friday that parents were confused about what was the right age and feared putting a foot wrong.

But chairman Harold Scruby said “categorically” that the right age was 10.

He said younger children were easily distracted and unable to judge speed and distance accurately.

“This is irrefutable evidence from all around world,” Mr Scruby said.

“I am horrified when I see little five-year-olds running up to a corner or traffic lights.

“It only takes something small to distract them and they’re out there on the road.”

Walk Safely to School Day 2017 - 15 Second Ad: https://t.co/MjYuVbwmSs via @YouTube

— Pedestrian Council (@pedcouncil) April 21, 2017

The council said children aged under 10 should hold an adult’s hand while crossing a road.

But that kids aged eight and under should also hold a hand while on the footpath or in a car park.

At least one million primary school children across Australia are expected to ditch cars for their feet on Friday.

The national day of awareness promotes the health benefits of regular walking, as well as road safety.

Susan Liew, the Director of Orthopaedic Surgery at The Alfred, said children risked lifelong disability if injured during their formative years.

“Parents are always interested in keeping their children safe but they cannot take action if they don’t know or don’t think about some of the facts,” she said.

“The same force of a bumper bar for example, will cause more damage to tissue and especially to vital organs such as the brain. What we don’t hear about are the ones who live with a disability forever.”

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