Category: Road safety

Weird ways of making things happen.

Sibo and Lizzie 2

I found out about a new thing the other day. Well, I mean, I am always learning new things – that’s why we go to school, but I did not learn about this at school.

It’s something called crowdfunding.

Huh! I hear you say. What on earth is that?

It’s when lots of people give a little bit of money so that a large amount can be raised so that something can happen. Like an event… or producing a music DVD, or publishing a book.

I thought it was quite a cool idea.

Say you want to do something – for instance my friend Ginny wants to bring out a Sibo (yes – yay – that’s me) book on Road Safety – “Sibo Looks Left” will be the title. But because times are tough and the schooling system is interesting, it is no longer feasible for publishers to just publish books willy-nilly anymore.

With crowdfunding, you put a sort of advert on the internet for your project. There are various different service providers who provide platforms for these adverts, and you have to pass certain criteria. They don’t just accept any project.

Basically you offer rewards for support (the support comes in the form of cash). For instance, in our case if you pledge R50 towards the book – you will receive a digi-book and get your name printed in the book as a supporter. There are other rewards too – like if you pledge more money you could have your company’s logo on the inside front cover… or… you could even have one of Sibo’s friends in the story with your child’s name. Cool hey!

It’s a fact – far too many kids get killed on the roads for stupid reasons.  Maybe this book will help a little bit. Gently inform kids (and their parents) about the rules of the road.

But here’s the most important bit – you will know that you have helped in the process of getting books given to children who can’t afford to buy them themselves.

They will get a free book which they can read over and over.

Yoh! I can’t bear to think that some people don’t even own one single book. That’s just terrible. But it’s even worse to think that somebody might get hurt or killed just because they did not realise what they were doing on the road was dangerous.

Buckle up!

Sibo

 

Your new word for the week:

Word:  willy-nilly

Meaning:  haphazard, random

Example… go find the example in the text above. (Sneaky hey!)

Texting on the go.

Sibo standing

I very nearly got trampled the other day, twice nogal!

We were saying goodbye to my auntie at the airport and I was strolling along like a normal little kid. I realised that somebody was coming towards me, towing his suitcase with one hand and texting with the other. He was not looking where he was going and he would have ploughed straight into me if I had not jumped out of the way.

However, the elderly lady behind me was not so fast and he did bump into her.

He did not even bother to apologise – just went on his way and kept on texting. She had dropped her bag and some papers went skedaddling all over the floor. Dad and I helped her pick them up. She looked a bit flustered by the whole thing.

I turned around to carry on watching the rude man – which was a rather stupid move because another lady bumped into me. She was also walking along with her cell phone glued to her hand… texting.

At least she was polite and said she was sorry.

What’s with all these people walking and texting and not looking where they are going?

Can’t they just stop for a minute – get out of the way – finish their texting business and then carry on walking. And actually look where they are going.

When we sitting at the Wimpy, waiting for it to be time for my auntie to board her plane, I checked out the place. I notice that half the people in the restaurant were on their cell phones. Often – one person was sitting there looking sad and bored, whilst the other person was busy staring at a small screen.

Sjoe! I’m not sure that this social media stuff is very healthy.

We’ve got rules in our house. Mum is not allowed to look at her phone while we are having dinner. Dad hardly ever uses his cell phone. He says it’s for work and he does not want to see it when he’s at home relaxing. He’d much rather read a book or come and work with me in the garden. Mum, on the other hand, is addicted to Twitter.

Apparently I am too young to have a fancy phone – I have what is lovingly referred to as “the brick” and it can’t do anything smart.

Watch where you walk please!

Sibo

Stay Safe

Sibo and Wayne walking Zona

I heard that there was an accident the other day when a person was killed just walking down the street on the pavement, minding his own business.

How terrible is this?

Cars and bikes should not drive like hooligans through suburban areas – but they do.  And they probably always will – unless the municipality puts humps and bumps in all the roads. Even then, I’ve seen some drivers get very creative driving on the pavement to avoid the humps.

People should take care when driving in suburban areas. Kids and dogs roam around. They shouldn’t really. But still they do.

We children should also be vigilant.  Keep an eye on the road. Walk on the pavement or side path. Don’t walk in the middle of the road. If you are taking your dog for a walk, make sure it is on a leash so that it cannot charge off after that unexpected cat and get you (or itself) into trouble.

Also remember the rules of the road.

Cross by the zebra crossing. Walk facing the oncoming traffic so that they can see you. If it’s night time – wear something bright so that cars can clearly see you. There is nothing worse than wearing black clothing walking down the road on a dark night. That is just silly.

And while we are on the topic of safety… don’t talk to strangers. No really – just don’t do it. And definitely do not take sweets from people that you do not know. Never ever! Not even if you are hungry and they look really good.

If you are at home alone, keep the doors locked. Don’t just open it if somebody knocks. Look out of a window or through the peephole to check if you know the person. Better still; just speak to them through the locked door. It’s also okay to pretend that there is somebody else there too.

Child molesters and drunk drivers should be locked up in a cold dank cell for a very long time – but unfortunately often they get away with their crimes.

Don’t be scared. Rather be alert my friends – it might save your life.

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Cool word for the week: Snigger

Meaning: to laugh in a half-suppressed, typically scornful way

Example: Some of my friends snigger at me when I wear bright colours at night time, but I don’t care – I’d rather be safe than sorry.

Be Safe on the Road

Hi everybody.

I hope that you are all happy and more important – healthy!

I get so sad when I hear on the radio or see on TV that kids have been hurt or killed on their way to school. Often while being driven in a taxi.

Actually it makes me mad too. We are just little kids. We have to hope and trust those drivers will take us safely to school each day. We should not have to worry about stuff like having accidents.

We don’t have any control over how fast the taxi drivers drive. In fact – we don’t even know if they are good drivers.  Maybe our parental agents should be able to check up and see how many accidents the drivers have been in. Then we simply should not use a taxi if it’s full of dents and the driver is a road hog.

Even if it means being late for school. Better safe than sorry.

But we can take some responsibility for our own safety. We should sit quietly in the car, taxi or bus and not shout or scream or do anything to distract the driver.

Although some of those taxis play such loud music I think they run on sound instead of diesel!

Also – we should always wear our seatbelts. Even if it is just for a short distance.

Did you know – statistics show that most accidents happen within 5km of your home? That is just scary.

If we walk around when it is dark – we should always make sure that we wear something bright (like white). So that cars can easily see us. If you skulk along the side of the road wearing jeans and a dark shirt – it’s very hard for the cars to see you until right at the last minute. Then sometimes it’s too late.

You should always walk on the side of the road that faces the oncoming cars too.

Running in front of cars is just silly and dangerous. But we all know that. Even if you are late and you have to vamoose – use the zebra crossings and walk.

Stay safe.

Sibo

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Your new word for the week:

Word:  skulk

Meaning:  to hide or move around as if trying not to be seen.

Example: The naughty boy skulked outside the door to see if he could hear what the teacher was saying about him