To cross the road, remember the code

I’m writing this after watching yet another video on Sina Weibo that shows a toddler wandering into a road in a Chinese city and being knocked down by a car driven by someone clearly oblivious to the unfolding tragedy.

That’s the second video recently, and I’ve lost count of how many I’ve seen over the years. Friends in Beijing have also shared countless tales with me of children blindly running out in front of the car or taxi they were traveling in. Like the videos, such incidents are far from uncommon.

Yet despite such horrific images being shared widely online, almost every day I see a parent or grandparent crossing a road with a child at an unsafe spot or while the walk sign is still red, which sends exactly the wrong message to youngsters about road safety.

Recently, I watched in terror as a mother and father attempted to cross four lanes of busy traffic with a child age about 6. Ignoring the “little red man”, they stepped off the sidewalk and began slowly edging into the road, step by step, until they were virtually in the middle. All the while, cars and electric bikes zoomed past.

Due to the weight of the traffic, they remained adrift in that asphalt sea for about a minute. Had the parents actually waited for the walk sign to turn green, they would have ended up at the other side of the road at pretty much the same time, just without the risk of serious injury, or even death. What did they gain?

As a child, I was drilled to follow the Green Cross Code, a road safety campaign launched in Britain in the 1970s that is still taught in schools today. It has six simple steps: • Think • Stop • Look and listen • Wait • Look and listen again • Arrive alive I recall the short publicservice movies shown during kids’ TV that featured the Green Cross Man, a Superman-like hero who warned children of the dangers of playing near roads and crossing at dangerous spots. (Fun fact: He was played by David Prowse, the actor who wore the Darth Vader suit in the early Star Wars movies.)

I’ve seen similar public announcements on Chinese television, but I rarely see parents and grandparents showing their children by example.

It also doesn’t help that Chinese motorists have little regard for pedestrians. Even with the “little green man” on display, cars still speed through crossings, while electric bikes buzz ahead at intersections regardless of what color the traffic lights are.

To ensure our roads are safe, campaigns like the Green Cross Code are essential, but it ultimately falls to parents to put their children on the right path. Contact the writer at craig@chinadaily.com.cn Online Scan the code to hear an audio version.