Keeping kids safe on our roads

Walking helps our tamariki to stay fit, connect with others and their environment and most love the experience!

But young tamariki are not little adults and cannot judge traffic the way adults do.

Their small physical structure and cognitive skills are not yet fully developed and can lead to them being injured or killed as pedestrians.

They may not be able to see over parked cars, and may misjudge oncoming traffic as their cognitive, sensory and perceptual skills are still developing.

Unfortunately, spaces where tamariki walk have not always been designed with them and their safety in mind either. Many parents and children say that they would walk or cycle to school if the roads were safer for them.

Why Road Safety Matters

2 TAMARIKI DEATHS PER YEAR:
Around two tamariki pedestrians are killed each year in a motor vehicle traffic crash. While all ages 0-14 are affected, it is mostly the 0-9 year olds who suffer fatalities.
67 PER YEAR HOSPITALISED:
Approximately 67 tamariki pedestrians are hospitalised each year in a motor vehicle traffic crash. Most are 5-14 year olds.

We also know that tamariki Māori, Pacific children and those living in areas with ongoing under-investment, poorer infrastructure and more material hardship are injured at higher rates as pedestrians in a motor vehicle traffic crash than other children.

Keeping tamariki pedestrians safe

There are things we can all do to help keep tamariki pedestrians safe; whether you’re a driver, caregiver or a decision maker or anyone else.

Drivers

Slow down – Drive at 30km/h or less around schools and communities to protect tamariki pedestrians at all times
Don’t drive distracted: being distracted for more than 2 seconds makes you much more likely to crash or have a near miss. Put your phone down and reduce other distractions, see here for more info on removing distractions.
Take extra care and look out for tamariki while you’re driving in car parks, school drop-off/pick-up points or busy shopping areas.

Auckland Transport research shows 85% of deaths and serious injuries outside schools happen when variable speed limits are not operating (Greater Auckland, 2024).

Parents and Caregivers

See it from their POV

Go to the roadside near your home and kneel down so you are the same height as your child.
Ask your child what they can actually see or hear from their point of view.
Understand how road risks are different from their POV.

While every child is different, developmentally most are unable to accurately judge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic until about 10 years old. So it’s best for tamariki under 10 to cross the road with an adult to keep them safe.

Important things to teach tamariki pedestrians:

Walk on the footpath, close to the houses and away from the road.
Look and listen for traffic at driveways (some driveways are difficult to see).
Use pedestrian crossings or cross at traffic signals, wherever possible.
Walk facing oncoming traffic on roads where there are no footpaths.
Share the footpath carefully with others, including skaters, scooters, wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
If there are no crossings or traffic signals, talk about and show your child how to: find a safe place to cross and to always use the kerb drill.

Kerb Drill for Tamariki

Help tamariki learn about crossing the road safely:

Take one step back from the kerb.
Look and listen for traffic coming from all directions.
If there is traffic coming, wait until it has passed and then look and listen for traffic again.
If there is no traffic coming, walk quickly straight across the road.
While crossing, look and listen for traffic, wherever it may come from.

Walking School Bus

Try a walking bus, where children walk to school in an organised group. Talk to your school. They may have walking buses. See Auckland Transport's website for how a walking school bus works. If your school doesn't have a walking school bus, you can learn more at Waka Kotahi on how to set one up.

If you usually drive tamariki to school, try parking your car further away from the school and then walk some of the way with them so they learn about road safety with you.

Decision-makers

We urge local and national decision makers to:

Invest in programmes that focus on tamariki Māori, Pacific children and those in more socially deprived areas that have poorer infrastructure.
Make rural roads safer, especially for tamariki pedestrians.
Increase support to create safer environments for tamariki to walk to and from school.