REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA -- An academician from a Korean university is offering to implement an effective strategy in Yogyakarta to reduce the number of accidents involving children after such methods yielded impressive results in Korea.

The head of National Safety Administration of the Gacheon University, Korea, Prof. Huh Eok, is giving a glimpse into this strategy at a discussion titled, "Efforts to Reduce the Number of Accidents Involving Children in Yogyakarta," at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) on Friday.

"In Korea, such an approach has reduced the number of accidents dramatically," he said.

According to him, three main elements played a role in Korea in reducing the number of accidents in which children were involved. These are educational aspects, aspects of the facility where such accidents could happen, and legal and regulatory aspects.

According to data of the Directorate of Police Korea, the accidents were brought down by a whopping 96 percent in 2015. From 1,600 children who died in such accidents in 1990, the number came down to 65 by 2015.

He advised that any child negotiating his way on the road must be trained in following three simple habits ? he or she has to stop before crossing a road, maintain eye contact with the driver, and stay alert.

In addition, Huh Eok emphasized, the parents, especially the mother, exercises effective control to familiarize the child with traffic and teach him or her to be careful.

"The mother can play a key role by underlining the importance of paying attention to the safety of children on the street," he added.

Further, when it comes to various facility-centric aspects in Korea, the provision of safe school zones, construction of sidewalks and ensuring clear markings at zebra crossings to help the children to cross the road in an orderly and organized fashion were very important.

"Positioning a policeman at every school also helps," he explained.

Eok Huh underlined that the Gachon University and the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) are planning to implement a program, called the "Korean Way". The program that will run for three years will be implemented in Yogyakarta in 2017.

The head of the Sub Directorate of Safety and Traffic Directorate of Regional Police of Yogyakarta, AKBP Kristiono, reiterated the benefits of traffic education. He stressed that the parents, especially in Yogyakarta, were still to play their role as desired.

Ignoring the perils, many parents still feel proud if their children, despite being minors, are capable of driving a motor vehicle.

"However, we are already providing guidance to students about traffic, and have even included traffic related issues in the curriculum from elementary to high school level," he mentioned.

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