From Monday: Caution, new school children
CAUTION The time has come. Starting Monday, August 21, thousands of children will once again be on their way to school. Until Saturday, August 19, adults can take the perspective of the little ones for once at Zurich Main Station.
With the start of the school year, parents' worry carousel also begins to spin. This is shown by an AXA survey of 1,000 mothers and fathers in Switzerland. 31 percent of parents almost always or often worry about their children when they are on the way to school. Among younger children between the ages of four and seven, the figure is as high as 40 percent.
Michael Pfäffli (large picture), Head of Research and Prevention at AXA: "Children's cognitive abilities are not yet as developed as those of adults. They are less attentive and misjudge situations. For example, children can't estimate how fast a car is traveling or whether it can still brake in time."
Objective danger decreases, subjective fears remain
Almost half of the parents surveyed believe that the dangers for children on the way to school have increased in the last twenty years - although accidents involving children have decreased significantly during this time. The parents' assessment is probably related, among other things, to the greater volume of traffic.
For example, streets without sidewalks, main roads (both mentioned by 54 percent of parents) and rush hour in general (47 percent) are considered particularly delicate for the little ones. Trucks, large cars such as SUVs, electric cars and e-scooters are also seen as a danger to little ones. Parents have the greatest concerns when their children are out and about on bicycles or scooters.
Michael Pfäffli: "Rightly so. The often high speed of a bicycle or scooter not only increases the risk of injury in the event of a fall, but also requires children to grasp dangers more quickly and at an early stage."
Consequently, parents most frequently want safe routes to school (72 percent of respondents) and safe bike paths (57 percent). They also want more crosswalks (36 percent) and a general speed reduction to 30 kilometers per hour in built-up areas (35 percent).
Larger than expected" exhibition at Zurich HB
At the AXA prevention event "Bigger than imagined", visitors can experience an XXL traffic situation - both an oversized traffic situation at a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights, as well as with Virtual reality glasses - experience the risks in road traffic from a child's point of view. The installation has been on display in the concourse of Zurich's main train station since until August 19, 2023.
