Schools used to use a cartoon hedgehog to lead the example in road safety, but it seems the latest animal to learn from, is a dog.
One good boy in particular showed the perfect way to cross a road safely.
Brilliant dashcam footage shows the unaccompanied animal waiting patiently at the side of a road by a zebra crossing, until the road was clear and it could cross safely.
The fact the dog was alone might spark a whole debate in ‘Why did the dog cross the road?’, but instead of trying to come up with an answer to that question, let’s focus on its excellent performance of road safety.
Check out the clever doggo here:
Presumably having spotted the lone canine waiting at the side of the road, the driver with the camera came to a halt in front of the designated crossing.
The dog takes a couple of steps towards the road, but makes sure to check the other lane of oncoming traffic before stepping out.
It waits patiently as a couple of cars overlooked the smart animal and carried on driving. The clever canine was finally able to cross when a white van stopped the line of traffic to give the pup a free path for safe crossing.
Maintaining its cautiousness, the dog checks the cars were still at a standstill before stepping out, and trotted across the road to continue its mystery journey.
There’s so many elements to this story which suggest how smart this particular dog could be.
First of all, it seemed to understand cars can be dangerous, and so stuck to the pavement when it could.
Secondly, the good dog appeared to recognise the zebra crossing as a safe place to conquer the road, and it even looked as if it knew the tip of checking both ways before it stepped out.
On top of all of that, the pooch adopted the little half-jog humans often do when we’re holding up traffic.
This dog has clearly learned from the best.
Of course, there may be some unknown elements to this story which make the dog’s excellent display of road safety more understandable.
For example, crossing the road might have been a common route for the pup, meaning it knew from memory where to cross?
There could also have been an owner out of shot who was shouting instructions to their pet, but either way, it’s an excellent display of obedience and understanding.
I think this video should be used in schools to teach road safety from now on. It’s been a good few years since I was in primary school, so I don’t know if there’s been a video to replace the hedgehog, but I’m confident this dog has all the skills people need to be aware of when it comes to road safety.
In case you were never blessed with this hedgehog I’ve been going on about, here’s a preview:
All the dog video needs now is a catchy song to go along with it!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.