New Delhi, Two-third school-going adolescents in Delhi cross major roads alone on their way to school while walking remains the dominant mode of travel, a new study has found highlighting the need for safer school routes.
The findings highlight the need to make school journeys safer through a combination of people-centered infrastructure, enforcement, and more effective road safety education. “The school commute is an everyday part of adolescent life, but for many young people it also means navigating busy roads and making decisions about safety on their own. “Our findings show that rather than focusing only on individual behaviour, we need to create environments that make safe travel possible. Another key finding was the limited understanding of common road safety signs.
“Of those surveyed, 80 per cent of boys and 49 per cent of girls walk from school to home, often on busy roads and highways without adult supervision. Nearly 60 per cent of students had poor knowledge of commonly encountered road safety signs, with particularly low recognition of signs relevant to school and pedestrian environments.
Public health researcher in the Injury Division at The George Institute for Global Health, walking emerged as the most common mode of school travel, particularly among boys, according to Pratishtha Singh. Crossing major roads alone was also common, while many students who cycled also travelled independently on high-traffic roads,” Singh said. “Two-thirds of students cross major roads alone on their way to school, while walking remains the dominant mode of travel,” Singh added. Safer school journeys will require infrastructure, enforcement, and education that responds to the realities young people face every day,” Singh said.
