MAPPING OUR SAFE JOURNEY
“Honk! Honk!” honked the car, while Eli was driving me around the city.
I was sitting in the back seat, looking around. The sun was shining, and the streets were busy with cars, bikes, and people walking. Tall buildings lined the roads, with colourful shops and cafés adding excitement to the scene.
As we drove along, an idea popped into my head. “I’m going to draw us a map for our adventure!”, I exclaimed, pulling out a big sheet of paper and my favourite crayons.
I began drawing the places we loved—our house, the park with the big tree, and our favourite ice cream shop, and the library. I was so excited, “This will be the best map ever!”.
But then, Eli kept stopping the car unexpectedly.
My crayon slipped, drawing a crooked line on my map. I asked, “Eli! Why are you stopping all the time?”.
Eli turned to me with a smile. “Riri, I must stop at stop signs and traffic lights. There are rules we must follow on the road to keep everyone safe.”
I was confused. “What rules? I don’t remember any. Can’t we just drive straight to our destination?”
Eli chuckled softly, “We stop at stop signs to let other cars and people cross safely. It’s part of the traffic rules. Without them, there would be accidents.”
Eli pointed to the traffic light, “See that? That’s a traffic light, and it tells us when to stop and when to go. When the traffic light turns red, we must stop, and let others go. When it turns yellow, it means we should get ready to move. Finally, when it turns green, it means we can go!”
I was amazed to learn that. I asked, “But I cannot drive a car. What should I do when I am walking?”.
Eli said, “Good question, Riri! As a pedestrian, you also have rules to follow. Always use the crosswalks and wait for the pedestrian signal to turn green before crossing the street. And remember, even if it’s green, always look both ways to make sure the road is safe.”
Eli continued, “I will repeat this, Riri! Always look left, right, and left again, before crossing the street for coming cars. And always walk on the pavements. Also, don’t play around roads, okay?”
I nodded, feeling much better now that I understood the rules. I looked at my map and thought about how important it was to add these details. I decided to make my map even more special. I drew stop signs, traffic lights, and crosswalks.
I even added little cars, and people walking on the sidewalks. I said, “This map will not only show us where to go, but also how to get there safely.”
I showed the map to Eli, and she said, “Riri, this is fantastic! You’ve included everything we need”.
I smiled and said, “Thanks, Eli! Now we can go on our adventure and follow all the rules.” We continued our journey, following the map and enjoying every moment.