黄色の安全ベスト、7歳の学童の自立を促す　　　　　　　　　　　　　　気ままなリライト143

7歳の交通事故防げ　警視庁、黄色ベスト配布　通学慣れる5～6月多発 - 日本経済新聞

Balancing the benefits of a car-oriented culture with the safety and well-being of children is a quite challenge, especially in large cities like Tokyo. Urban road designs often prioritize cars, leading to insufficient safe infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, such as sidewalks, bike lanes, and safe crossings. Consequently school children are at greater risk when commuting independently. Facing the dilemma of high traffic volumes and the vulnerability of children to traffic threats in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures, the police authorities are emphasizing road safety education to help elementary school children commute to school safely and confidently.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has identified seven-year-old elementary school children as the most vulnerable victims of traffic accidents. According to the MPD’s statistics from 2019 to 2023, seven-year-olds experienced the highest number of pedestrian traffic accidents in Tokyo, with a total of 446 incidents. Data from 2014 to 2023 further revealed that those accidents most frequently occurred in May and July each year, with 264 incidents in May and 260 in July, following 303 incidents in October.

Behind the increase in accidents among first graders commuting to school in May and July is a false sense of safety and independence among children and their parents. Initially, parents or guardians accompany their children to ensure they learn the route. However, by May, guardians begin to let their children commute alone, believing they have become accustomed to the route. This leads to less vigilant behavior. With decreased supervision, the children’s newfound independence loosens the reins on their impulse of curiosity, exposing them to traffic dangers. At 7 years old, children are still developing their cognitive and perceptual skills, including judgment and decision-making in complex traffic situations, peripheral vision, and the ability to judge distances and speeds. Their smaller size and lack of experience as pedestrians mean they are less adept at recognizing and responding to potential hazards. Additionally, they are not yet internalized the fear of being hit by cars, making them less mindful of what is going on around them.

Balancing vigilance against children’s unpredictable behaviors with fostering their gradual independence has been a key focus of school efforts, involving local communities to create a safe and supportive environment for young commuters. In Tokyo, 95 elementary schools are leading a road safety campaign, supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Nearly 6,000 reflective yellow vests were delivered by the Department to those schools in fiscal 2023, boosting first graders’ confidence in their ability to commute safely. They feel more visible and secure in commuting independently, which supports their gradual increase in autonomy despite the high-volume traffic. The principal of Funado Elementary School in Itabashi Ward, one of the participating schools, says, “Children wearing those vests are more noticeable at pedestrian crossings and intersections, compared with those with only a reflective cover on their satchels on their back.”

Funado Elementary School is encouraging their students to develop both good safety habits and a sense of independence through the practice of wearing reflective vests. Those yellow vests are handed down from older first graders to newer first graders, symbolizing the completion of the process of gaining independence. This practice helps students understand the importance of making themselves visible in traffic and other situations, even without the reflective vests.

Chiba Prefecture, in collaboration with the Chiba Police Department, aims to accelerate the process of building independence in children. Four model kindergartens selected by the prefecture are encouraged to integrate a road safety educational program into their curriculum for teaching basic life skills. Targeting five-year-old children, the program involves hands-on experiences and real-world traffic exploration several times a year. It teaches children how to safely cross the crosswalk without a traffic signal, including how to judge when it is safe to cross by considering the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles while providing proper oversight. The program emphasizes the repetition of safe practices, summarized in the phrase, "Stop, look, and listen before crossing." The program also includes sessions for parents on how to teach their children the importance of patience and not rushing to cross the street.

In Ishikawa Prefecture, a psychological experiment was conducted in 2023 as a collaboration between Kanazawa University and E-design Insurance company. The experiment aimed to curb children's risky behaviors by triggering unconscious and automatic reactions through conditioning. Targeting 30 first graders, the goal was to enhance child road safety by associating auditory stimuli with a sense of guilt for running into traffic, thereby encouraging them to refrain from running. The device used in the experiment emitted a car horn sound ("beep beep") followed by a voice saying "Stop" whenever its accelerometer detected a child starting to run. The frequency of running behavior was monitored over three days, both with and without the device's sound. Results showed that 62.5% of the children reduced their running behavior when the sound was activated, indicating that the device effectively influenced children’s behaviors. However, 37.5% of the children’s adventurous spirit overwhelmed the device's deterrent. This suggested that the budding resistance from conscious thought was overriding the automatic responses elicited by the auditory stimuli, despite most children commenting, "I have become more careful while walking," and "I wanted to avoid triggering the sound, so I ran less often.”