Representatives from Rotary and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) visited Cayman International School (CIS) last week to discuss proper pedestrian and road user safety as part of Cayman’s Rotary Clubs Share the Road campaign.

Rotarian Dawn Cummings and Inspector Ian Yearwood visited the school to educate and spread awareness of the Share the Road message which focuses on mutual respect between all road users. The presentation had a particular focus on keeping children safe while they are walking, cycling and travelling by car.

Rotarian Dawn Cummings said children were among Cayman’s most vulnerable road users.

“Children have little or no sense of danger and find it hard to judge the direction of sounds, the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles and the gaps between them,” she said. “They are still learning to identify safe crossing places and anticipate driver behaviour.”

“One thing we can do to reduce the risk of accidents is to educate children about road safety. It’s important that children can identify dangerous situations on the road and how to safely play, walk and cycle outside. This is one of the objectives of Rotary’s Share the Road campaign,” Ms Cummings said.

Inspector Yearwood gave the children advice on how they could better protect themselves on Cayman’s roads, including the importance of using seat belts when in a car and the importance of wearing a bike helmet when riding a bike.

“I want to remind all parents to make sure their children have and wear a bike helmet, are wearing suitable reflective, bright or light clothing and have lights and reflectors fitted to their bikes or scooters,” he said. “It’s all about being seen in order to stay safe.”The children were also taught the correct and safest ways to cross the road and encouraged to use pedestrian crossings where possible.

“Using a catchy rhyme, we taught the children to stop, look and listen before they cross the street.”  Inspector Yearwood said. “Children should always hold an adult’s hand on the pavement, in the car park or when crossing the road.”

“Cayman’s road users must remember to always slow down and be on the lookout for the unexpected in areas where children might be playing or cycling,” he said. “It is up to all of us to keep each other safe, particularly the youngest members of our community.”

CIS grade one teacher, Ms Tatum Acutt, said the students were learning about road safety as part of their Science Curriculum’s Health and Safety Unit.

“The visit from the Share the Road crew was excellent. The children now have a good understanding of the need to keep themselves safe while using the road,” she said.

CIS grade one student, Tessa Danter, said “We learned about being safe on the roads.  This means people who are driving, walking and on motorcycles or bikes too.  My favourite part is when we watched the video about people stopping and being safe.”

Schools or other organisations and clubs that are interested in learning more about Share the Road should call 623-6700.

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Inspector Ian Yearwood of the RCIPS and Rotarian Dawn Cummings discuss pedestrian and road user safety with Grade 1 students at Cayman International School.