Back to school 2022National road safety campaign starts 15 September
The school holidays are almost at an end, with the new school term drawing ever closer for Luxembourg's pupils. The Grand Ducal police are set to once again roll out their road safety campaign for the school run.
There will be an increased police presence around schools from 15 September, to offer support to teaching staff and parents alike. The authorities will also carry out more speed checks, as well as safety checks on issues such as wearing seatbelts or incorrect parking. The campaign seeks to spread awareness that such behaviour is not only dangerous for drivers, but also a risk to pedestrians.
The police will be handing out high-visibility safety vests to children in cycle 2.1 and in primary schools, as part of prevention and awareness measures. Over 8,000 vests will be distributed in the weeks following the start of the new term.
Police also issued the following advice:
For parents:
- Walk the way to school together with your child several times and draw their attention to potential dangers. Choose the safest path, not the shortest path.
- Make your child aware of the dangers on the street.
- Exhibit exemplary in your behaviour; children imitate their parents.
- Always respect the Highway Code, in particular: speed limits, parking restrictions; wearing a seat belt, even on short journeys (you and your child).
- Make sure your child always gets out on the curb side of the car.
- When leaving the school, do not wait on the opposite side of the street. Your child may cross the street carelessly.
- Make sure your children are clearly visible, in particular with: Light-coloured clothing, armbands or safety vests; reflective strips on clothing and school bags.
- If you take your child to school by bicycle, don’t forget to wear a helmet (you and your child).
- If you transport a child in a bicycle trailer, make it as visible as possible, for example by equipping it with a flag. Especially for drivers of larger vehicles, a bicycle trailer is not always very visible.
- After transporting a child in a rear-facing car seat in the passenger seat, remember to reactivate the airbags in the passenger seat when carrying another person in it.
For kids:
- When using pavements, stay close to houses and gardens instead of walking on the edge of the pavement near the street.
- On pavements, older and more experienced children walk on the side of the road to protect less experienced ones.
- Cross the road at the traffic lights. If there are none, use the zebra crossing and look both ways before crossing. If there is no pedestrian crossing, stop at the edge of the street, look left, right, and left again and cross when there are no more cars in view.
- Watch out for cars on the pavement, especially when exiting garages.
- Be careful when parked vehicles obstruct vision. Stop in front of the curb and make sure there are no cars before moving forward.
For motorists:
Young children do not yet know the dangers of traffic and can also be nervous when school starts.
- Pay attention to children and be careful.
- Adapt your speed around schools and signal your manoeuvres.
- Be particularly careful at pedestrian crossings and around schools and bus stops, reduce your speed when you see children and be ready to brake at any time.
- Don’t forget that children don’t know how to judge speeds and have difficulty recognising certain dangerous situations.
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