Pupils from Rocklands and Wavecrest primary schools zoomed around on plastic motorbikes while wearing reflector vests last week at the City’s Transport Month launch.
The City taught the pupils road safety rules for pedestrians and cyclists at the Traffic Learner Centre in Rocklands on Wednesday 1 October, in partnership with the Pedal Power Association (PPA).
“Road safety is not just one person’s job,” said Mayco member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas.
He encouraged the children to take the message home to their families.
“Tell your friends, tell your brothers and sisters and tell your parents. One day you are going to be drivers and you will have to know how to be safe as pedestrians first before you can become good drivers,” Quintas said.
Zane van Aarde of the PPA told the children that it was the law for cyclists to wear helmets even though the prevailing notion was that they were “uncool”.
“This is the one item that is going to protect you if you get into an accident. If your head knocks the pavement or the ground, it’s going to take the impact and it will probably get cracked or broken. However, I can go to the shop and buy a new one, but if my head gets injured, I’ll probably land up in hospital.”
Senior traffic officer Anthea Daniels taught the children the safety rules for crossing the road before they were given the chance to practise what they had learned on the pint-sized roads at the centre. Officers guided groups of children across the pedestrian crossings and taught the tiny bikers to wait at the miniature traffic lights before they zoomed off as soon as it turned green.
Learner centre
The Traffic Learner Centre was launched in 2024 and is maintained by the City’s Urban Mobility Directorate. The Safety and Security Directorate uses the centre to teach pupils safe road practices in real-life settings through demonstrations on the pavilion. “By bringing learners into a real-life road environment like the Learner Centre, our road safety officers can demonstrate in a hands-on way how to cross roads safely, the importance of wearing helmets and staying visible,” said Regan Melody, the City’s Executive Director for Urban Mobility. The launch was part of the City’s strategy to foster a culture of road safety, it said in a release.
“The practical lessons leave a lasting impression on children, who then take the message home to their families. This approach helps the City extend the road safety message well beyond the series of activations during Transport Month,” the release said.
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