When are children old enough to cross the road on their own?
Where should children cross the road and what are the penalties if they do
not cross there?
How and where should children cross the road after alighting from a bus?
What are the guidelines for pedestrians where there are shared footpaths?
What are the penalties?
Is there an age at which children can legally sit in the front seat of a vehicle?
What are the penalties for children not being appropriately restrained in
a car?
While there are no legal restrictions about children crossing the road on their own, the supervision of children by caregivers and families in the road traffic environment is essentially a moral and ethical one: children are entitled to adequate protection from harm.
It will take many years for young children to develop the skills they need to be on their own in the traffic environment and to keep themselves safe. Click here to see why young children depend on adults to keep them safe.
Road traffic accident statistics show that many young children are killed or injured as pedestrians. Some of these accidents occur when the child is not supervised at all while others occur within the sight of the adult who is responsible for the child.
It is therefore strongly recommended that children under the age of eight years hold the hand of a responsible adult in all traffic situations and that children up to at least the age of ten years be actively supervised in the road traffic environment and hold an adult's hand when crossing the road. Click here for the hold my hand fact sheet. Because of individual differences in children and in local traffic environments there are many cases when the recommended ages should actually be extended to include older children.
In general, when pedestrians cross a road the Australian Road Rules stipulate that they must cross by the shortest safe route and must not stay on the road longer than necessary to cross safely.
In deciding on a safe place to cross, children and their carers should use a marked crossing, signalised crossing or pedestrian refuge if one is available. This may require walking a little further. If no pedestrian crossing facility is available, they should choose a place with a clear view. Safe places to cross do not always stay safe because of changes in the road traffic environment such as parked vehicles that may obscure a pedestrians view of oncoming traffic. Close and active supervision of young children by a responsible adult is always essential.
Young children should not travel on a bus unless closely and actively supervised by a responsible adult. The key road safety message for older children crossing the road safely after alighting from a bus is 'Wait till the bus has gone and then find a safe place to cross'. This message does not replace the need for adequate and appropriate adult supervision.
Where children are travelling unsupervised on a bus, an adult should meet them at the bus stop they will alight from. Under no circumstances should an adult wait on the other side of the road as young children have not yet developed the skills necessary to negotiate a safe road crossing.
It is important for children and their carers to wait for the bus to leave before crossing the road at a safe place for two reasons:
For more information on pedestrian safety around buses and school visit the RTA's road safety site.
The Australian Road Rules state that a pedestrian must not travel along a road if there is a footpath or a nature strip adjacent to the road unless it is impracticable to do so. If forced to walk on the road the pedestrian must, by law, keep as far to the left or to the right side of the road as practicable and not travel alongside more than one other pedestrian. It is preferable in most situations to walk on the side of the road facing the oncoming traffic.
It is, of course, recommended that children be closely and actively supervised by a responsible adult who holds their hand in this situation.
The Australian Road Rules state that a pedestrian must not be on a bicycle path or part of a separated footpath designated for the use of bicycles unless crossing them. On a shared footpath, cyclists must keep left and give way to pedestrians. Pedestrians, however, should still always take care on a shared footpath as some cyclists may not follow this rule.
Although there are legally no age restrictions for children sitting in the front seat, it is strongly recommended that children sit in the back seat for maximum safety.
A child aged under 16 years of age must not be restrained in a child restraint in the front seat of a vehicle that is fitted with an airbag.
A child under twelve months must legally use a suitably approved child restraint that is properly fastened and adjusted. The Australian Road Rules state that a child aged between 1 and 16 years of age must be seated in an approved child restraint that is properly fastened and adjusted or wear a seatbelt. The penalty for not doing so is $230 and 3 demerit points from the driver's licence for each unrestrained child. While adult seatbelts can be used for children older than 1 year, the use of more appropriate child restraints is strongly recommended. Children should sit in the rear seat of a vehicle for maximum safety. Under no circumstances should seatbelts be shared. Putting more than one person in a seatbelt is classed as 'incorrect use' and is therefore illegal.
Copyright 2005 Macquarie University