Page 11 - • IFV 9 2020.indd

Lifestyle

roaD saFety rules For

resIDentIal CommunItIes

BY JOSH TRuTER

The lockdown has certainly taken its
toll on all of us and, more so on parents
who have been thrown into the roles
of teacher and child-minder while
simultaneously trying to hold down a
job by working online at home. Now that
we’re on level 2, the easiest solution is to
tell the kids to go and play outside with
their friends, when they’re not at school
or doing online lessons. This is exactly the
time, more than ever, that the rules and
regulations of social behaviour must be
re-enforced.
Yes, we’re all sick and tired of the
regulations, the curfews, what we can and
can’t buy, where we can and can’t go. But
particularly in a gated community, where
families have come to live, in the quest for
a better lifestyle, the rules are there for the
benefit of the residents.
So, to highlight some of the rules that
parents need to enforce (yes, it means
being strict!) with their kids, here are some
important guidelines relevant to life in
Irene Farm Villages:
1. The speed limit for vehicles of any nature,
including bicycles and motorbikes, is
40km/h inside the estate.
2. At all times, anyone on a skateboard,
bicycle, scooter, motorcycle or any
BY SASENKI
other form of outdoor transportation,
ringing a child into the world are unreasonable. Who wouldn’t want other than an enclosed vehicle, must
and nurturing him or her to come flying around a corner with the wear a helmet from the moment he or
Bthrough childhood does wind rushing through their hair, enjoying she is about to get on to the ‘vehicle’ and
not come without its fair share of the sheer exhilaration of speeding on a for as long as the ‘vehicle’ is in use.
challenges – be it chickenpox, asthma, country road? It may be fun if you’re sure 3. The standard rules of the road must be
eczema, tonsillitis, ear infections or there’s no one around – but try that in a adhered to, both inside and outside the
broken bones from falls, this is all part busy urban neighbourhood and you may estate.
of growing up. find yourself coming second-best when 4. Be aware and respectful of pedestrians.
On top of these natural occurrences, colliding with another vehicle or a static 5. If you are a pedestrian, keep to the
though, there are the other threats that object. walkways and pavements where
cannot be anticipated, such as a drunk As humans, we’re not made to live possible. Give way to vehicles – with our
driver causing a head-on collision, a in isolation. That’s why so many of us instant lifestyles, patience is something
loaded truck with no brakes wiping out have opted to live in gated residential we no longer value or understand, but
a cyclist, a motorcyclist weaving through communities. However, regardless of being patient on the roads can save
traffic hitting a car changing lanes, or whether we choose to live in urban areas lives.
a taxi skipping a robot as oncoming or as a hermit family in an isolated place, 6. With the rainy season approaching, if
vehicles turn across a busy intersection. as parents, it is our responsibility to keep there are signs of lighting, go home or
We try to keep our families safe, but our children safe. And if we choose to live get indoors, out of harm’s way.
there are times when unexpected disasters in a community, we need to understand There are so many other threats to our
derail our plans for the future. There may that our actions will impact on the people well-being. Let’s not add blatant defiance
also be times when people choose to surrounding us. There’s no getting away of the rules to the mix. Let it be ‘live and let
ignore the rules, as they feel those rules from that fact. live’, not ‘live and let die’.

The Villager • Issue 9 2020 • 9