Cape Town - Two primary school children were seriously injured when they were hit by a car while crossing a busy Buitengracht Street on Thursday morning.
Linam Tutu and a school friend were crossing the road at Leeuwen Street, said city traffic spokesman Richard Coleman. There was no pedestrian crossing nearby.
The two girls were hit by a BMW travelling along Buitengracht at 7.30am, he said.
One child was taken to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital and the other to Somerset Hospital. Both were first treated by paramedics at the scene, Coleman said. One child was in a critical condition while the other was stable.
Coleman confirmed that hundreds of small children moved through the city to their various schools in the CBD every morning, crossing the major streets, many by themselves.
It is believed the two little girls are from Khayelitsha but attend school in the Bo Kaap.
Provincial traffic director Mark Jansen, who has taken personal charge of promoting and arranging scholar patrols at schools, said the problem of small children walking on their own to schools was difficult to solve throughout the city and especially in the townships, as many of the children were from poor homes. Parents could either not afford to drop their kids at school, or they had already left for work.
“We can only have point personnel or scholar patrols right at the school, nearest the entrance where they can be monitored,” he said.
“There is no possibility we can have them all along the route the kids have to take to get to school.
“The provincial department goes to schools to promote the scholar patrols, we train the patrollers and the supervisors and we issue the equipment. We also go back and check on everything as regularly as we can.”
Provincial traffic spokesman Hector Elliot pointed out that the early morning school rush was actually one of the safest times for children, as there was a heightened awareness among parents, motorists and the children themselves.
The most dangerous period was late afternoon or early evening, when kids were already home, playing in the street, and people were tired, returning from work and visibility was poor because of a low sun.
“The most vulnerable age group is between the years of five and nine and boys are far more likely to be involved than girls. Only about a third of victims are girls and we know that has to do with the boys’ energy and willingness to take risks.”
Elliot said children were also much more vulnerable to serious injury because of their small stature and still soft bone structure, especially their under-developed skulls.
While adults were able to instinctively brace themselves for impact, children did not do that and often even turned towards the oncoming vehicle. Upper torso and head injuries were common with children, while adults are usually hit first at the hip.
“Children that age are incapable of judging speed or distance. They are very vulnerable and that is why we urge motorists to make sure they slow down appropriately when they see children next to the road,” Jansen said.
Cape Argus