Child – Parent Interaction in Relation to Road Safety Education

Parents have a crucial role in keeping their children safe and enabling them to learn how to use roads independently, but little is known about how they approach the task.

This study by Jackie Green and colleagues at Leeds Metropolitan University used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore child–parent interaction in relation to road safety education, from the perspectives of both parents and children.

Parents’ overriding concern was to protect their children. The road safety education they provided was often patchy, dated with an emphasis on knowledge rather than skill development, and did not fully prepare children for the complexity of modern roads.

The main findings were:
• Both parents and children were aware of the risks on the road, in particular the volume and speed of traffic coupled with unpredictable driver behaviour.
• Children’s behaviour was also a risk factor, either in relation to a lack of ability (for the young) or irresponsibility and distraction (among teenagers).
• When accompanying children, a major priority for parents was keeping their children safe by controlling their behaviour physically or verbally depending on the child’s age and perceptions about the level of risk. They did not take full advantage of opportunities for roadside teaching.
• In higher-risk situations, parents transferred their attention to the road and focused on controlling rather than communicating with their child. Efforts to teach children about road safety tended to take place at designated crossings or on quieter streets.
• Much of what children and young people learn on the roads is through observation. Parents tended to be inconsistent role models, and the quality of the role model deteriorated as their children got older.
• Parents offered little explanation when adapting road use behaviour to suit specific situations.
• Road safety advice given by parents when children went out on their own often took the form of vague messages to ‘Be careful’ and ‘Take care’.
• Road safety messages provided by parents tended to be based on what they learned as children. The information and approach was often dated and did not take into consideration the complexity and volume of modern-day traffic or specific local hazards.
• Most parents felt confident about providing road safety education for their children, but their approach was often unplanned, ad hoc and intuitive. Parents found it more difficult to get through to teenagers.
• Children felt the most effective way for parents to teach road safety education was to start young, teach rules with explanation, set a good example and provide opportunities to develop skills at the roadside.