Grown-ups and Road Sense

A boy watches his dad comfort his angry mum outside by the family car whilst his nan and baby sister look on from the window

A young boy narrates this film, explaining how grown-ups are quick to lecture him about road safety, but seem unable to follow their own advice.

The film begins at home with the boy introducing his family, including Vicky (their little yapper dog), his baby sister and his nan, who likes to watch them come and go from the window.

That's Vicky. This is my dad. That's my sister. This is my mum... and my nan. She always waits there. She worries when we're not all home. Mum and dad worry when I am...!

"Mind you don't burn yourself." "Dry yourself properly." "You'll ruin your eyes."

The boy and his mum leave for the shops, as nan looks on. Mum is shown crossing the road in all the wrong places with her son in tow.

And every Saturday morning when me and mum go shopping, my nan always tells me to look out for the traffic. Me?! It's mum she should be telling!

When she wants to get to the shop opposite, she just takes off. She doesn't bother with the crossing. We've been told at school not to go between parked cars but to use the crossings. And my mum says, "That's quite right when you're young."

The boy is having dinner back home, and then we see his mum pulling him across the road again.

At home there's all that "sit up and eat up, otherwise you won't grow up to be big and strong and healthy."

And outside, where there are cars and lorries and buses wading past, my mum should be wearing L-plates crossing the road. Good job she doesn't drive...

Scene switches to the park.

...My dad does and he's very careful. But he doesn't always practise what he preaches. Me and him had been up in the park Sunday morning. Then he remembered we hadn't brought the car. I started walking to the subway and he tells me it'll make us late for our dinner. It's very funny how grown-ups can always be right, even when they're wrong!

They cross the road instead of using the subway, and dad is nearly run over when he doesn't see a car coming and steps out into the road.

Now if anyone had tried that when he'd been driving, he'd have done his nut!

Next, mum and son are nearly knocked over when they cross between parked cars.

The best one was when I was with mum. Me and her were on our way home after getting me my shoes. Anyway, we had to cross the road and she didn't even see the car coming. She was about to tell the driver what she thought about him and he was out the car to do the same. And do you know who he was? My dad - in our new car!

We could have all finished up as mincemeat. And you tell me how they would have explained that to my nan.

This film is available to watch online at TVARK, the online TV museum.

Grown-ups and Road Sense

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