Alert for the commencing academic year 2025/26: "Watch out!"
As the school year 2025/26 approaches in North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund and Lünen are gearing up for a joint traffic safety campaign. Radio 91.2, Sparkasse Dortmund, and the Dortmund Police have banded together to launch a poster campaign, urging road users to practice caution and mutual consideration in traffic, especially around school routes.
The campaign, titled "Caution! Our kids don't have an airbag!", has been in use since 2021 and aims to draw attention to the lack of safety features children have in traffic compared to vehicles. Citizens of Dortmund and Lünen can pick up free, weatherproof posters from police stations, the police presidency, or Radio 91.2 in the city center.
The campaign is a part of the Dortmund Police's efforts to ensure child safety in traffic and pursue the "Vision Zero" goal, which aims to eliminate all traffic accidents. In the school year 2024/25, there were four school route accidents in the area of responsibility of the Dortmund Police, compared to seven in the previous school year, indicating a positive trend.
Preventive concepts play a significant role in ensuring child safety in traffic. NRW traditionally implements a range of preventive concepts, including pedestrian and cyclist training in schools, safe infrastructure such as clearly marked crosswalks, school zone speed limits, and traffic calming measures around schools, and technology use for safety, such as improved street lighting, surveillance cameras in critical areas, and possibly digital alert systems.
Local communities, including parents, teachers, school administrations, and municipal authorities, actively participate in school route safety. Participation might include involvement in route planning and infrastructure needs, volunteer crossing guards or “safe routes” patrols, feedback mechanisms for reporting hazards or unsafe conditions, and collaboration via school-parent meetings or local forums.
The Dortmund Police is pursuing the Vision Zero goal by designing school routes to minimize risk points, enforcing strict speed limits near schools, often 30 km/h zones or less, and continuously monitoring and adapting safety measures based on accident data. Vision Zero emphasizes systemic safety, meaning not only educating children but also adapting the entire traffic system around schools.
While there is a 2025 warning from NRW’s Data Protection Officer about iPad use in schools and data privacy, it does not directly affect physical route safety. The modern construction and quality of new schools imply ongoing infrastructure improvements, which can include safe access pathways for students.
If you require official policy documents or specific local program details for NRW 2025/26, consulting NRW’s Ministry of Transport or local municipal websites would offer the most precise and updated information. Road users are urged to be aware of the dangers for children in traffic and practice constant caution to ensure a safe and accident-free school year for all.
[1] NRW's Data Protection Officer Warning on iPad Use in Schools and Data Privacy (2025) [2] Modern Construction and Quality of New Schools in NRW (2025)
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