Two experiments were carried out to compare different methods of training children aged between six and eight in safe road behavior. The road crossing behavior taught was: crossing well away from parked vehicles, and the correct way to cross between two parked vehicles, if there is no alternative place to cross. Children were tested in a traffic garden before and after training. Training methods used involved colored slides and model vehicles. The method using slides was found to be more effective with the second situation; training with either method produced an improvement in behavior with the first situation, but it was not established which method was the more effective. In a second experiment, children were given instruction in road crossing at a light controlled junction. The concept of crossing at the correct phase of traffic lights does not appear to be easy for your children to grasp. Children who had been trained in a traffic garden did better in a practical test than children trained in a classroom. (Author/publisher)
Abstract