They teach the most important traffic rules and safe cycling: some of the youth traffic schools in the state only reach a few students. The left calls for improvements.
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – From the point of view of the left-wing parliamentary group in the state parliament, traffic education in Saxony-Anhalt receives too little attention. A response from the state government to a small question from the parliamentary group showed that there was almost no traffic education in certain regions. In Magdeburg, Köthen and the rural regions in particular, more must be done to teach schoolchildren the most important traffic rules at an early stage, demanded the leader of the left parliamentary group, Eva von Angern. “In view of the upcoming school enrollments in the country, these are alarming signals.”
The response from the state government states that youth traffic schools at 17 locations in the state reached more than 27,000 schoolchildren last year. Of these, about 22,300 were elementary school students. While more than 4,000 boys and girls learned traffic rules and cycling in Oranienbaum and a good 4,700 in Stendal, there were just a little more than 300 in Köthen and around 500 in Staßfurt. The state government’s overview shows almost 500 participants for Magdeburg and well for Halle 2400
In Saxony-Anhalt, the Ministry for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs (MID) and the Ministry of Education support the activities of the state traffic police, which is responsible for traffic education. In addition to around 323,000 euros that have been requested for the current year, the Ministry of Education provides over 20,000 euros annually for material expenses of the stationary and mobile youth traffic schools. The money could also be spent on staff. The response from the state government states that the topic of road safety education is and will remain a part of teacher training.
Eva von Angern explained that many students had to travel long distances to school, especially in rural areas. “Responsibility for traffic education cannot be shifted to parents and teachers alone. The roundabout guards have been chronically underfunded for years.” What is needed is a fundamental change and money for sufficient advice and learning opportunities for traffic education.
