Teaching children road safety

More than 200,000 children, ages four to 12, from Bangkok and various provinces have visited the park during the past three years. Children are taught traffic rules in the lecture room for thirty minutes. To earn a junior driver's license they take a simple examination, which is designed for different age groups. They also have a chance to put these traffic rules into practice by riding the bicycles, which are provided by the park, on miniature traffic lanes.

We want to instill traffic discipline in children at a young age, so that when they reach the age to apply for a driver's license, they will have been familiar with the traffic regulations since childhood, says Suparat Sirisuwanangkura, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Co, organizer of the White Road Park Project.

The White Road Park, located near Chatuchak Park, was built to encourage road safety in the country, starting with today's youths.

Lecture room

The lecture room introduces children to the three colors of the traffic light through visual aids. Children are taught to look at traffic signs and be able to distinguish them at first glance, whether they are regulatory signs or warning signs. Regulatory signs, such as signs that prohibit motorists to make a right turn or signs that set the speed limit, are red. Warning signs, such as signs that warn motorists of a road hump ahead, are yellow.

A video presentation makes these traffic signs more comprehensible for the children by showing how a motorist should drive around a traffic circle in Thailand by circling the vehicle to the left side of the traffic circle. A trainer at the park notices that some children are still confused about this traffic rule.

Trainers also show the children a cartoon video on road safety, which naturally attracts the children's attention better than the lectures. Cartoon characters demonstrate to them how to cross the road safely at zebra crossings and remind them of the importance of wearing a helmet while riding a motorbike.

Miniature traffic lanes

Before the children are allowed to ride on the bicycles in the miniature traffic lanes at the park, a trainer walks with them along the small lanes to guide and review the meanings of each traffic sign. On a two-way road, they are first reminded to drive on the left side. Then, they are reminded to carefully observe any warning and regulatory signs along the road.

Once the children were on the bicycles, many were too excited to stop at a traffic light and had to be reminded by the trainers. The miniature traffic lanes are designed to resemble many important landmarks in Bangkok, such as Victory Monument, the Giant Swing, the Golden Mountain and the Rama VIII bridge.

A safer tomorrow

When asked what he has learned from the lecture, Jaturapit Purahong, a Grade 5 student from Phraram 9 school, recalls confidently that he has learned how to cross the road safely by using the zebra crossing or the pedestrian bridge.

Although it is difficult to guarantee that children will remember everything from the lectures on traffic rules, what is important is that the children have a sense of road safety since childhood in order to be good motorists in the near future.

The White Road Park is located at Suan Rod Fai near Chatuchak Park. It is open, free of charge, to the public everyday except Monday. For more information, call 02-537-9128.