EV Road Safety Activities for Children

The school holidays are nearly upon us and that usually means you need to find a million and one ways to keep your little ones entertained. Well, we’ve found 7 for you – we couldn’t take all the fun!

Last year we developed the Green Car Cross Code, supported by the largest UK road safety charity – Brake. As more and more electric vehicles drive onto UK roads, the safety steps aim to teach children how to be more vigilant when crossing the road.

Use our range of fun and educational road safety games to teach the code to your children!

Why EV road safety matters

Road safety guidance has been taught to children for decades. Our Green Car Cross Code is an updated version of the infamous Green Cross Code that originally launched in 1970. So, we’re all very aware of the dangers on the road, but are we all equipped for the modern EV world

Many electric cars are able to accelerate much faster than your typical petrol or diesel car. Plus, some sound like something from Star Wars whilst others barely make any sound at all. With fast speeds and quiet rides, pedestrians need to be aware of the EVs we’re now sharing the road with.

Last summer we commissioned a study of 1,200 British parents and children aged 6-17. Our research found that more than eight in ten parents are worried about modern road safety issues – including their children not hearing electric vehicles (39%), wearing headphones (33%), and using gadgets while walking (40%).

Fast forward to May 2023, and the RAC reported on Department for Transport (DfT) statistics showing a sharp rise in the number of road deaths in Britain (source). In the face of rising road deaths, we’re hoping our road safety tips will help keep your loved ones safe and spread road safety awareness.

As well as the activities below, be sure to use the Green Car Cross Code whilst you’re walking places with your children. By actually practicing the code, your children are more likely to remember it and make it part of their everyday routine.

 

7 road safety activities for children

Once you’ve shown your kids the video, use the below activities to help them remember the code. You can download our activity pack which includes resources you can print off to play the sound and bingo game.

1. Create their own comic strip/storyboard

Get your children to use their imagination and create their own version of the comic strip above. They might choose to create a Green Car Cross Code superhero or use different characters. Whatever they do, make sure they are clear on what the six steps are!

 

2. Play the road safety sound game

We’ve gathered a range of road noises – from the sound a motorbike makes to a pedestrian crossing – for you to test your children on. So, we’ve basically done all the work for you with this one!

Play each of the eight sounds and ask your children to write down what they think the noise is. When you go through the answers, take time to educate your child on what they should do when they hear each sound and repeat the Green Car Cross Code.

At the end of the game, see if your children can think of any more road sounds to prompt further discussion.

 

3. Make an EV model out of recycled materials

Get saving your empty cereal boxes, kitchen roll tubes and other packaging ready for an arts and crafts day. This is a great one to have on the rainy-day emergency activity list! And of course, how long this activity keeps your kids busy depends on how big you encourage them to make the EV – did someone say life sized Tesla?!

Start off by showing your children pictures of EVs so they know what to look out for on the road. Spark a discussion by asking them if they’ve ever seen one and if they think they look different to petrol and diesel cars.

Once your children have a good understanding of what an EV looks like, let them loose with the carboard and tape. Whilst they’re busy with their creation, share facts about EVs – did you know that the first EV was made in 1884?

 

4. Play Green Car Cross Code bingo

Anyone for a game of bingo?

We’ve created some bingo sheets using road safety icons like a car or EV charging point. Whilst you play the game, there are a number of discussion topics on the sheet to help your children understand the importance of road safety.

 

5. Act out the code

If you’re children enjoy playing pretend games and acting things out, then this will be a fantastic way to help them learn the code!

First, play the video again and go through each step. Next, ask your children to come up with their own actions to remember the six steps. Once they’ve performed it for you, you can ask them to teach you their actions to further engage them.

 

6. Create a road safety poster

Every kid loves to be let loose with colouring pencils, right? Posters are a great way to retain information and make any topic fun.

Set your child off designing an EV road safety poster for your street. The poster could raise awareness of the six steps or include some EV facts that people might not know.

You could see if your local town hall, Scouts and Girl Guiding groups, or community centre would be happy to put the poster up on their notice boards. The more people who see the code, the better!

 

7. Take the quiz

And finally, our quiz is a great way to test your child’s knowledge and see how well they’ve remembered the road safety code. They can take the quiz over on our dedicated Green Car Cross Code hub. If they pass with flying colours, there’s a certificate you can download and print off for your road safety super star!

They can retake the quiz as many times as needed. We recommend doing the quiz every few weeks to ensure they remember the code and continue crossing the road safely.

 

Interested in learning more about EVs? We’ve done all the research, so you don’t have to! Head on over to our EV Info Zone, which covers a range of topics, from maintaining an EV to what it’s like driving one.

Want your own personal shopper to help find the perfect EV for you? Our New Car Consultants will find the right car for your lifestyle. Give them a ring on 0113 468 5377 (option 1) or drop them an email [email protected].