Road safety - protecting yourself

The Green Cross Code

Find a safe place to cross, then stop.

When you stop ready to cross, stand on the pavement near the kerb.

Before stepping into the road, look all around for traffic and listen.

If traffic is coming, let it pass, look all round again and listen.

Walk straight across the road when there is no traffic near.

Once you’ve started to cross the road, keep looking and listening.

Using a zebra crossing

Stop at the kerb at the crossing.

When the traffic has stopped walk across, but keep looking and listening.

If there’s an island in the middle of the crossing, stop there and wait for the traffic on the other side of the island to stop before you continue to cross.

Using a pelican crossing

In this section

Stop at the kerb at the crossing. Press the button to wait for the ‘green man’ signal to light up.

When the ‘green man’ shows, check that vehicles are stopping, then walk across.

When the ‘green man’ starts to flash on and off, this means the traffic will soon start moving.

If it is a ‘staggered’ crossing, there will be another signal on the traffic island.

Using a puffin crossing

A puffin crossing is like a pelican crossing but it has the ‘red/green man’ signals on the near side rather than the other side of the road and the ‘green man’ does not flash on and off.

Puffin crossings also have two detectors. One, often a black mat, can tell when people are waiting to cross and won’t stop the traffic if nobody is waiting. The other controls the red light signal to drivers so people have enough time to cross.

Stand on the mat, if there is one, or about one pace back from the kerb if there isn’t. Press the button.

Do not start to cross if the ‘red man’ is showing. When the ‘green man’ shows – and you’re sure that the traffic is stopping – go straight across, looking and listening.

The signals will stay red for drivers until you get safely across, but keep looking and listening in case a driver doesn’t stop.

On pelicans and puffins, always cross between the studs, not over the zig-zags.

Seat belts and child restraints

It is illegal to carry an unrestrained child in the front seat of any vehicle and child restraints and seat belts must be used in the back if they are available.

Legal requirements

	Front seat	Rear seat	Rear seat
Driver	Seat belt must be worn if fitted		Driver
Child under 3 years of age	Appropriate child restraint must be used	Appropriate child restraint must be used if available	Driver
Child aged 3 to 11 and under 1.5 metres (approx. 5ft in height)	Appropriate child restraint must be worn if available. If not, an adult seat belt must be worn	Appropriate child restraint must be worn if available. If not, an adult seat belt must be worn if available	Driver
Child aged 12 or 13 or younger child 1.5 metres (approx. 5ft) or more in height	Adult seat belt must be worn if available	Adult seat belt must be worn if available	Driver
Adult passengers	Seat belt must be worn if available	Seat belt must be worn if available	Passenger

A variety of child restraints are available –

Baby seats
Child seats
Booster seats
Booster cushions.

The appropriate restraint depends on the weight, size and age of your child. All child restraints must carry the United Nations ‘E’ mark or BS Kitemark and should be properly installed.

Accidental injuries are a major health problem in the UK

Never use a rear facing baby seat in the front passenger seat if an air bag is fitted.
A safe place to cross includes using a subway, a footbridge, an island, a zebra, pelican, toucan or puffin crossing, or where there’s a police officer, a school crossing patrol or a traffic warden.
Where there’s a crossing nearby, use it. Otherwise choose a place where you can see clearly in all directions.
Try to avoid crossing between parked cars. Move to a space where drivers can see you clearly.
Other unsafe places to cross include on the brow of a hill or near a junction.
Do not run.
Do not cross diagonally.
Keep looking and listening for traffic while you cross, in case there’s any traffic you didn’t see, or in case other traffic suddenly appears.
Wait for the traffic to stop.
Keep looking and listening in case a driver hasn’t seen the crossing and tries to overtake a car that has stopped.
Always cross on the stripes, not the zig-zag markings, as many accidents happen close to zebra crossings.
Never cross while the ‘red man’ is showing.
Keep looking and listening in case a driver has not seen the crossing and does not stop.
Stay on the pavement.
If you’ve started to cross, you should have time to finish crossing but keep looking for traffic that might have started to move.
Stop and press the signal button to get the ‘green man’ again before crossing the second part of the road.
If the crossing is ‘staggered’ treat each half as a separate crossing.
For further information you can order a copy of the leaflet ‘Seat belts and child restraints’ product code T/INF/251 from DETR Free Literature Service, telephone 0870 122 6234.
Alternatively, contact your local authority road safety officer.