Movement of Children Across, Along Roads : Need For vigilance!

As schools reopened Monday, September 5, 2022, a very common difficulty that is faced by children is how to cross roads in a city like Douala. The first problem is that even children who seem to know road safety rules do not necessarily remember them especially when in a rush to meet up with class time.
The most problematic in Douala are schools that are positioned nearer to road junctions or along busy stretches or places where automobiles normally ply at high speed or even congested roads that make it difficult for children going by automobiles to reach school early. Until the age of 12 children need active adult supervision to safely navigate roads as they go to school, whether it is by walking, cycling or by vehicle.
As early as 7am on day one of the 2022-2023 school year, the first hurdle was how to brave the heavy downpour in flooded Ngangue, Makepe, Bilongue and Mambanda. While some children went barefooted in flood waters to reach their school, others paid an additional 50 FCFA going by motorcycle taxis with as many as three of them on the pillion.
This beckons new responsibility. Parents or guardians have to help the children succeed with the traffic equation. For example, they have to hold the hands of their children, always stop, look, listen and think before crossing a road, and use pedestrian crossings wherever possible. On the other hand, school which is normally ...