St. John Ambulance Wants Kids to Take a Traffic Safety Refresher
September 1, 2010 (Toronto, ON) – With back to school fast approaching, many children are anxiously awaiting a chance to see their friends and teachers. But before your children run out the door to swap summer stories, make sure they remember their traffic safety basics.
When crossing at an Intersection without signals or a crossing guard, children should:
- Stop, Look and Listen for traffic
- Look in all directions before stepping into the road
- If there is an approaching or stopped motorist, have children indicate their intention to cross - encourage them to make eye contact and extend their arm to show the direction they are traveling
When crossing intersections with signals, children should:
- Push the pedestrian button (where available) and wait for the pedestrian walk sign
- Stop, Look and Listen for traffic
- Watch for turning cars or trucks from both directions
- If there is an approaching or stopped motorist, have children indicate their intention to cross - encourage them to make eye contact, and extend their arm
- If the road is clear, walk, don't run across the road
If there is an adult crossing guard, children should:
- Cross only under the direction of the guard
And don’t forget:
- Walk on the sidewalk whenever available
- Always walk your bike across the street when using a cross walk
- Always wear a helmet when operating a bike, scooter, skateboard, or when using rollerblades
For more information on safety, or to sign your children up for youth first aid classes, visit
www.sja.ca.
For over 125 years, St. John Ambulance has been training over 140,000 Ontarians annually in first aid and other health care related courses and remains dedicated to saving lives at work, home and play. With over 4,000 volunteers contributing over half a million hours of community service a year, St. John Ambulance is an integral part of the community offering such unique and innovative programs as: medical first response, disaster response, car seat clinics, health and safety related youth programs and therapy dog services. As a charitable, humanitarian organization, proceeds from St. John Ambulance’s first aid training and first aid product sales directly support these vital community services programs. For more information on St. John Ambulance training courses and volunteer opportunities or to contact your local branch, visit
www.sja.ca/on