Shi Weidong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: Let’s equip children with luminous zebra crossings.

　　Is the children’s walk home safe?

　　According to statistics, in 2018, China saw more than 20,000 traffic accidents involving children and adolescents of school age, resulting in the deaths of over 2,200 young people and causing irreparable grief to each affected family.

　　Moreover, due to reduced visibility at crosswalks, the incidence of traffic accidents on crosswalks during inclement weather is more than five times higher than usual.

　　“Many traffic accidents occur because the existing zebra crossings around campuses simply aren’t effective enough in alerting drivers,” said Shi Weidong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of Nantong University, to reporters. Under adverse weather conditions, motor vehicle drivers have difficulty seeing clearly and struggle to promptly identify potential safety hazards involving students crossing zebra crossings. Moreover, students themselves tend to have weak traffic safety awareness—they often keep their heads down, staring at their phones—and when crossing zebra crossings, they frequently act disorderly, casually, or even in violation of traffic rules. As a result, drivers find it extremely difficult to accurately determine safe driving zones, which in turn leads to traffic accidents.

　　It’s not just children who are at risk. Although many schools specifically assign traffic police officers, teachers, and other escorts to accompany students during their commutes, traffic conditions become even more complex and unpredictable in zebra-crossing areas without traffic lights, putting the safety of these escorts at constant risk.

　　“Make up for whatever is lacking, specifically address and strengthen weak areas, and ensure that all necessary safety protection facilities and equipment are fully equipped.” These were the clear requirements put forward for primary and secondary schools and kindergartens at the nationwide emergency video and teleconference on school safety work held recently.

　　“A smart zebra crossing that can emit light could help prevent many accidents caused by the insufficient visibility of warnings from existing facilities,” said Shi Weidong. He added that this measure not only makes the warning more conspicuous, prompting motor vehicle drivers to yield, but also helps encourage and regulate students’ proper behavior when crossing the road.

　　He also suggested equipping areas around schools with intelligent traffic monitoring devices, such as vehicle speed feedback systems, to monitor vehicle speeds in real time. These devices would use LED displays showing numerical values and clear text prompts to effectively remind drivers to pay attention to speed limits.

　　“It is necessary to incorporate the two points mentioned above into the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan for Transportation Development, or into the work plans of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Education regarding traffic safety in primary and secondary schools, and during the actual implementation phase, the finance department should provide financial support to the relevant schools,” said Shi Weidong. He expressed hope that by ensuring a top-down design, the safety of children could be effectively safeguarded.