National Walk Safely to School Day celebrates its 23rd year

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Transport for NSW and NSW Police are encouraging primary school-aged children to walk to school in support of the Pedestrian Council of Australia’s 23rd annual Walk Safely to School Day today.

Tara McCarthy, Deputy Secretary of Safety, Environment and Regulation at Transport for NSW said the NSW Government is proud to support the initiative, which has joined forces with National Road Safety Week this year to emphasise the importance of educating children about road safety and the health benefits of walking, not just on 20 May but every day.

With more than one million students travelling to and from school each day, walking safely to school today is a great way to educate our primary school-aged children about safe road behaviours and decisions,” Ms McCarthy said.

Hold your child’s hands when walking with them and choose safe places to cross the road. Children learn from the adults closest to them, so I urge you to talk to them about road safety and model good road behaviours as you walk.

Police will be joining school crossing supervisors outside schools helping children cross the road safely. Both will be wearing yellow ribbons in support of National Road Safety Week which this year has the theme of ‘Everyone has a right to get home safe, every day – no exceptions'.

Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden said education is the first step to protecting vulnerable road users from being hurt or killed on the roads.

“Our roads are unpredictable settings that everyone needs to be cautious and vigilant around,” Assistant Commissioner McFadden said.

“Giving our children the awareness skills to be conscious of their surroundings is giving them vital self-protection skills that can prevent them from being seriously injured.

“They also need to have the confidence to know how to navigate traffic and roads which is why this initiative is so important.”

Ms McCarthy said the NSW Government is committed to keeping our children safe.

There are now more than 1,000 school crossing supervisors across the state and every NSW school has at least one set of flashing lights, with additional sets also installed outside many schools with multiple busy entrances,” Ms McCarthy said.

Important investments such as the recently announced School Zone Infrastructure Sub Program also help improve visibility of school zones and safety of our children with signage, road markings and upgrading safety infrastructure such as elevated pedestrian crossings.”

Find out more about Walk Safely to School Day at www.walk.com.au. Families can all find practical road safety tips and activities for children at www.safetytown.com.au.