Getting to school: safety over speed

Getting to school: safety over speed

Website provides information about danger spots on the way to school - liability privileges for children

The summer holidays are already over in some federal states. Tens of thousands of children and young people are heading back to school. One thing is clear: traffic requires full attention. This has been reflected in the Federal Statistical Office's figures for years: children are particularly likely to have accidents early in the morning, between 7 and 8 a.m., and from midday onwards when school is out. The route to school should not be the shortest, but rather the safest. A small detour can be worthwhile if traffic lights or student guides make crossing the street safer.

But which is the safest way? Parents can have their own experience on the site https://www.schulwege.de/ Fact-based cross-check: Here you can calculate the safest possible route based on known dangerous areas. HUK-COBURG supplies some of the data for identifying danger spots to the “Initiative for Safe Streets”, operator of the school route portal. The basis is the insurer's telematics tariff, which almost 700,000 customers use. In aggregated and anonymized form, this data provides information about danger spots in traffic. Other data that is included in the calculation includes police accident data and reports from road users.

HUK-COBURG advises parents of ABC shooters to plan the route with their children and complete it several times. It is also important that a child stands on the curb at a sufficient distance from moving traffic. And before crossing the street, children should always make eye contact with the driver. You can only practice properly under real conditions: in the morning when school starts and at noon when it ends.

But lawmakers know that children are often overwhelmed by the complexity of motorized road traffic. This is particularly true when estimating speeds and distances. That is why children are only liable for damages that they negligently cause to third parties in a traffic accident from their tenth birthday. This has far-reaching consequences for drivers. If you are involved in an accident with a child who is not responsible for the crime, you will be liable regardless of who is at fault.

Drivers must therefore always expect that children will not behave according to the rules in traffic. Seeing a child means driving carefully, keeping an eye on both sides of the road and being ready to brake at any time. This is particularly true in traffic-calmed zones and in front of kindergartens and schools.

Whether older children over the age of ten actually have to take responsibility for an accident and its consequences depends on their ability to understand. What is crucial is whether they can correctly assess their own responsibility and the consequences of their actions. At the same time, it depends on the individual's culpability in the specific situation and the question of whether correct behavior could even be expected from a child of this age.

If the answer is yes, children also have to pay for all liability claims made by their victim. As soon as the child earns money themselves, they have to pay. If the parents have breached their duty of supervision, they can also be asked to pay. In both cases, protection is provided by private liability insurance.

For the press release on huk.de:
https://www.huk.de/presse/nachrichten/verbrauchertipps/schulweg.html

With over 13 million customers, HUK-COBURG is the largest insurer for private households with traditionally inexpensive offers, from motor vehicle insurance to liability, accident, property and legal protection insurance, as well as private health, life and private pension insurance. With premium income of around 10 billion euros in 2024, it is one of the ten largest German insurance groups. The traditional focus is motor vehicle insurance: with 14 million insured vehicles, it is the largest German car insurer. It is one of the largest providers on the market in household contents and personal liability insurance. HUK-COBURG, based in Coburg, employed a total of over 10,000 people at the end of 2024.

Company contact
HUK-COBURG corporate communications
Kerstin Dirtler
Willi-Hussong-Strasse 2
96444 Coburg
09561-96-22609

http://www.huk.de

Press contact
HUK-COBURG corporate communications
Karin Benning
Willi-Hussong-Str. 2
96444 Coburg
09561-96-22604

http://www.huk.de

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