A video clip circulating the world of road safety world of a dashboard camera has captured the shocking moment a car hit a toddler who had run into the middle of the road in a school area.
The video shows the moment the little girl wanders into the path of an oncoming car on a wet suburban street outside a Brisbane school Australia.
Incredibly, the child survived with minor injuries. It happened in a blink of an eye, and far too often.
But it could have been a lot worse.
Road safety experts around the world say it is proof that reduced speed limits save lives.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and An Garda Síochána have just released shocking figures : Seven children under the age of 16 years have tragically lost their lives on our roads in the first four months of the year*. Of the seven child fatalities, three of the collisions have occurred in or around Bank Holiday periods. There were seven children U16 killed in road collisions in the whole of 2013.
Road safety Officer Noel Gibbons Mayo County Council said: "Where we've got low speeds we know that drivers have plenty of time to react, and we can actually see that it was a very low kilometer per hour impact. In fact the child seemed to survive quite well, but parents still need to remain vigilant."
Shocking video as toddler is hit by a car.
"Up to the age of ten, children have not developed peripheral vision so the child does not see a car coming from the side of them. They see something in front of them and run straight out."
Child safety experts say limiting speeds around schools can only do so much.
Parents need to control their children around cars at all times.
"If that mum had been holding that child's hand, that accident could have been prevented, we are appealing to parents to hold their toddlers hand when near traffic " Mr Gibbons said.
Keep hold! This is all about holding hands near traffic. The activities below will help your child to learn:
· that they should always hold hands with their carer near traffic · that they should always walk on the side of the pavement away from traffic · What if there's no pavement? If there is no pavement, walk on the side of the road, facing oncoming traffic. Keep your child away from traffic, always holding hands.
WHY ARE CHILDREN AT RISK?
· Young children are less likely to take notice of objects not directly in front of them. Unless they deliberately turn their heads they may not notice vehicles to their left or right · Children have trouble judging the speed of cars. They may let a slow car pass and try to cross in front of a fast one · Young children often have problems working out where sounds are coming from. They may anticipate traffic from the wrong direction · Children are small, so they can't always see over bushes or parked cars. This also means that they can't easily be seen by drivers · Often children concentrate for only a short time, which can be very dangerous in traffic · As children are constantly on the move, they cannot be relied on to consistently behave safely. They may behave differently when they are with other children
