As a pedestrian you should always:

• choose a safe place to cross
• be aware of moving and stationary cars around you
• make eye contact with drivers if you can
• be bright, be seen – wear bright colours, ideally something fluorescent and reflective
• remain alert whilst crossing the road

Don’t assume the speed of a car coming towards you, and if in doubt, wait.

Choose a safe place to cross

Always find the safest place to cross the road. Look out for:

• Puffin and pelican crossings – these have traffic lights and a button which controls a ‘green man’
• Zebra crossings – these have two yellow beacons and striped markings across the road. Remember to wait for cars to stop in both directions. If there’s an island in the middle, treat each half of the road as a separate crossing.
• Footbridges over roads
• Subways under roads
• Traffic islands – these are safe places to stand in between the lanes of a road

Avoid distractions

Distractions lead to a large number of road injuries for pedestrians, but there are some simple steps you can take to stay safe when crossing the roads:

• Stop, look and listen
• Take your headphones out before you cross
• Don’t use your phone
• Cross the road at designated crossings

Road safety for children

Children are most at risk of being killed or seriously injured on the roads when they are on foot.

Good road safety behaviour can be learnt from a very early age. You can help by:

• holding your child’s hand when crossing the road
• always finding the safest place to cross
• stopping, looking and listening before crossing the road
• taking time to teach your child how to cross the road safely