Activity 8:
How Did the Chicken
Cross the Road?
Purpose
To introduce the proper ways of crossing a crosswalk
To engage participants in an activity to demonstrate their understanding of proper crosswalk safety
Location
Open field or space free of obstacles for walking and those using a wheelchair or other mobility device.
Materials
Masking tape, road chalk, or pylons (15-20)
Red and green paddles or objects to denote traffic lights (from Red Light Green Light)
Songs about crossing the street (optional)
“Walk” or “Don’t Walk” signs
Things to Observe
Participants are following the proper procedures – stop, look, listen, and walk.
Participants are making proper eye contact with drivers and maintaining an awareness of other hazards around them.
Participants are recognizing incorrect methods for crossing the road and are able to self and peer-correct.
Safety Considerations
Ensure that participants understand proper procedures for crossing at a crosswalk before taking participants to an actual crosswalk.
Ensure that participants are in crew formation when walking across a crosswalk. Crew formation means that two individuals must be side by side at all times and each pair should be directly behind another pair of participants (except for the first pairing).
Guidelines
Before starting the activity, make sure to create a simulated sidewalk like the one described below. You may want to use white masking tape, road chalk, or pylons to create the sample crosswalk on pavement in an open area (e.g., an empty parking lot away from in-coming and out-going traffic). If there are helpers, have one act as a traffic light at the end of a crosswalk and have another one act as a vehicle.
When the activity begins, you must inform the participants that when they are going to and from places, they will often be asked to move in a crew formation.
Use the following steps to demonstrate the proper pedestrian behaviours when walking across the simulated crosswalk:
When walking across the street, use marked crosswalks (like the one marked on the ground).
Obey pedestrian (walker) traffic signs (look at the person who is the traffic light).
Push the pedestrian button to cross when it is available and, if it is not, tell the participants to stick one arm out in front of them to show that they want to cross the road.
Make eye contact with motorists before crossing the street to ensure they see you.
Check for approaching or turning traffic, even when you have a “Walk” signal or crossing light.
Give approaching vehicles time to stop before you enter the roadway and allow extra time and distance in bad weather.
While crossing the street, continue to be alert by making eye contact with drivers until you’ve made it to the other side.
Another important part of this activity is that participants know the key signals you will be using and how to respond to them. These need to be explicitly taught and include the following:
For “stop,” hold the red object straight out so it is visible to all the participants and say you must not walk.
For “go,” hold the green object straight out so it is visible to all the participants and say you can walk.
For “don’t walk,” hold up the sign so it visible to all the participants and say do not walk.
For “walk,” hold up the sign so it visible to all the participants and say walk.
Start the activity by having participants walk as they normally would when crossing at a crosswalk. Ask the large crew if the methods are correct.
Finally, place the participants in small crews and ask each one to demonstrate the proper walking behaviours when walking across a crosswalk.
Instructional Considerations
Make the activity more enjoyable by comically acting out the behaviours to safely cross at a crosswalk.
Incorporate songs about crossing the street to engage participants.
The practices above work for most crosswalks regardless of urban or rural areas. You may want to introduce similar methods for proper pedestrian behaviour for different situations. For example: walking across the street at an intersection, or walking across a crosswalk that has no markings. These additional tips will help the participants be successful:
Explain the importance of non-visual cues such as the auditory warning beep on pedestrian buttons and listening for traffic in quiet or rural areas.
Wait to cross if the “Don’t Walk” signal is flashing or solid.
Treat pedestrian (walker) countdown signals like “Don’t Walk” signals – if it is flashing or has an auditory-warning beep, do not enter the crosswalk.
Always use caution when crossing at an intersection. Crosswalks exist at every intersection whether they are marked or unmarked. However, many drivers do not know/adhere to this.
Yield to vehicles when crossing at a location other than a crosswalk
At crosswalks, whether marked or unmarked, make sure to use the safety behaviours described and demonstrated in this activity.
Encourage observation as to whether there are dips in the curb at crosswalks that enable everyone to safely cross the road. If there isn’t, discuss how they may respectfully ask a friend using a wheelchair or other mobility device, if they will need assistance, and how to safely provide that if needed.
Debrief
At the end of the activity, take time to debrief with the participants. Ask them to discuss how effectively the crews were at being able to safely cross the pretend crosswalk.
Share ideas and suggest solutions.