Be careful!

Where routes to school are dangerous

The route to school presents opportunities and dangers, drivers must be considerate

(Bild: dpa-Zentralbild/Patrick Pleul)

Children are particularly often exposed to the dangers of road traffic on the way to school. An online map from the Austrian Transport Club (VCÖ) is now intended to provide a remedy. 

Every accident in which a child is injured is one too many. Although there was not a single traffic accident on the way to school in 80 of Vorarlberg's 96 municipalities last year, a total of 41 accidents on the way to school with 43 children injured were recorded. Most incidents of this kind occurred in the Dornbirn district (14), the fewest in the Bludenz area (4). The distribution throughout the day is striking, as the majority of the 41 crashes, namely 26, occurred on the way home.

Always let children cross the road
Just in time for the start of the new school year, Verkehrsclub Österreich is now appealing to drivers to drive more slowly, more carefully and, above all, to be ready to brake. The traffic experts also remind drivers that children are exempt from the principle of trust. If children want to cross the road, they must be allowed to do so safely - whether they are on a safety path or not.

The journey to school is a great opportunity for children to learn how to behave correctly in road traffic.

VCÖ-Expertin Katharina Jaschinsky

However, walking to school is not only a danger, but also offers opportunities. "The journey to school is a great opportunity for children to learn how to behave properly on the roads. Children also benefit from this outside of school and are safer on the road in their free time. If children are chauffeured to school by car, this opportunity is taken away from them," explains VCÖ expert Katharina Jaschinsky.

Safety on the way to school
Parent cabs are therefore not advisable. Instead, for shorter journeys to school, you should walk the route together with your child and point out the correct behavior and possible risks - the same applies to the route to the school bus. To further increase safety on the way to school, the VCÖ has set up an online map on which the public can mark particularly dangerous spots.

Problem areas can include very narrow sidewalks, speeding traffic, cars parked in a conspicuous place or blind road crossings. 1,500 such problem spots have already been marked throughout Austria.