Image: Volker Weihbold
These include, among other things: Monitoring the route to school at prominent junctions and crossings, checking speed behavior in the vicinity of schools and kindergartens and the approach speed in the area of school and protection routes, according to a broadcast by the Ministry of the Interior. Awareness-raising, prevention and educational work are therefore “another important pillar of police work to protect the most vulnerable road users”. “The safety of our children is a special and personal concern to me”said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP).
“I appeal to all drivers to pay particular attention to children near schools and to be ready to brake when driving. At the start of school, the police will be on duty with a visible presence and controls to further increase safety on the way to school”announced the Minister of the Interior.
According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, most accidents on the way to school in 2022 occurred in June (72), October (53), November (51) and May (50). The absolute highest number of injuries was in 15-year-old schoolchildren (90), followed by 10- to 14-year-olds. In the previous year, more than 40 percent of schoolchildren injured themselves on the way to school as pedestrians (188), almost a quarter with bicycles (99) and almost a sixth with mopeds (65) and as passengers in buses (39), cars ( 21) or with play and sports equipment (20). In the current year 2023, there has been one fatal accident on the way to school, in which a 13-year-old student was hit by a car as a pedestrian.
Source: Nachrichten
