Group wants children taught road safety

A non-government group promoting road safety for Filipino children said it will urge lawmakers to draft a bill to help raise the public’s consciousness on child pedestrian safety issues.

In a recent activity celebrating “International Walk to School Day” in Pasay City, Safekids-Philippines president Dr. Rafael Consunji said his group wants to seek an audience with senators and congressmen so “that our issues will also be deemed as important as any other issues affecting children.”

He noted that 35,000 children are killed annually because of the lack of training in road safety.

Consunji said the “Walk the Way” program started in 2000 and was launched in 40 countries.

“In the Philippines, apart from Pasay, we have already introduced this project in the cities of Parañaque, Quezon, Olongapo and Cebu. Basically, it is concerned with teaching children how to cross the road and read road signs properly,” he said.

Consunji added that to address this matter, the reminders of parents and teachers are not enough and reinforcement is needed to reduce unintentional injuries to children 14 years old and under.

He said their group, in coordination with Federal Express, is committed to making roads, homes and schools safer for children.

“Coordinators were identified in each beneficiary city and were given the mandate to organize volunters, (who) were initially trained and fielded to schools to execute the program of pedestrian safety. The 30 to 40-minute teaching module made the children aware of being safe as they walked to school,” Consunji said. – Rhodina Villanueva