Reasons for children under 14 not to cross the street alone

Statistics say that more than 40,000 people are involved in traffic accidents in the USA annually, including drivers, passengers and pedestrians. We all know that streets and avenues are dangerous, and it’s even more impressive when it comes to children crossing busy roads. That’s why scientists at the University of Iowa have studied psychological and behavioral aspects that influence children’s safety on the road, and the conclusions they have reached are quite interesting.

At the awesome.club we have studied the theory that explains how children’s behavior in the middle of a street or avenue changes with age and we want to share with you what we have learned.

For any adult, crossing a road seems easy to do. We look around us, analyze the traffic, calculate the time it takes to cross, wait for the necessary space and walk. For a child, however, it’s much more complicated. During the experiments, scientists from the University of Iowa came to the conclusion that, in pre-adolescence, having difficulty identifying gaps in traffic that are large enough to cross safely.

The problem is that young children may not have developed the necessary fine motor skills that adults have that allow them to cross a road as soon as a car passes. “Some people may think that younger children act like adults when they cross the street,” says Jodie Plumert, a professor at the University of Iowa. “But our study shows that this is not exactly the case on heavily trafficked roads where cars don’t stop.” Although most children have chosen to cross the same spaces in traffic as adults, they cannot timing your movements the same way older people do🇧🇷

The university’s team of experts invited children aged 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14, along with a group of adults, to participate in the experiment. Participants were placed in a simulated 3D traffic environment, where each of them needed to crossing the street with a line of moving vehicles🇧🇷 The time between vehicles differed from 2 to 5 seconds, and each person had to cross the road 20 times. The results obtained were quite interesting.

The 6-year-olds were “hit” by vehicles 8% of the time. Those aged 8 years, 6%. The 10-year-olds, 5%, and the 12-year-olds suffered “shocks” 2% of the time. Already adolescents aged 14 years or older had no incidents🇧🇷 This can be explained by the fact that, when people reach this age, they gradually develop the two most important skills for a safe crossing of streets and avenues:

They become more adept at analyzing suitable spaces to cross in traffic. They are quicker to cross the road after a car has passed, compared to younger children.

The research results obviously imply that parents of younger children should take extra precautions.

Scientists believe that it’s best to be patient when it comes to letting your child cross the street alone until they reach a certain age. When you teach him how to cross the lane, encourage him to choose spaces that are much larger than what you would choose. Urban planners and municipal authorities can also do much to ensure the safety of children on the roads🇧🇷 Roads which they are more likely to cross (eg on the fastest way to school) should be equipped with all kinds of aids and preventive measures for pedestrian crossing.

Do you think parents should be more careful about allowing their children to cross the street alone? How old were yours when you first let them cross unaided? Tell us in the comments!