Look both ways– and wave!

The only thing cuter than Saint Bernard puppies is Swiss children crossing the street in matching fluorescent safety vests. It gets better: they all individually wave at the driver, stopped at the crosswalk to let them pass.

At first, I just thought this was an exercise in the adorable, but at closer glance, it offers a lesson in Swiss safety culture. From a young age, children are taught not to stare at a green or red figurine to indicate when it’s safe to cross a street, but rather to make eye contact with the driver of the encroaching vehicle, and offer a wave of thanks as they cross. The benefit is twofold: the driver is acknowledged with gratitude (yes, they’re legally obligated to stop at crosswalks here, but it’s still nice to say thanks to someone for not running you over), and the pedestrian ensures that they are seen.

There are a number of smart safety practices here folded into what seem on the surface like simple cultural charms. I met a lovely Swiss couple who live just up the mountain from us (my fiancé and the husband are colleagues, both occupational health and safety professionals), and they offered even further evidence of this idea. The chimney sweep, or ramoneur, is a sort of mythical character to Swiss children. Of course, that idea has traveled across the pond in a major way—Dick the Chimney Sweep is second only to Mary Poppins in both beloved status and best nonsense words, with “Chim-chimeny-chim-chim-cheroo” lagging just behind “Supercalafragilisticexpialadocious” in our recent poll of five-year-olds (me).

But in Switzerland, the ramoneur isn’t just a mythical figure of film or the page—he (or she) actually visits homes to instruct and teach fire safety. He might advise residents the plug fewer appliances into a power cord, or move a rug farther away from the hearth. This brilliant combination of storybook figure come to life-cum-fire safety practitioner isn’t lost on Swiss kids. They’ll grow up with the attitude of adopting safe practices as a way of life, not just because “it’s the rules” (No offense, Germany).

So, always remember to look both ways and wave when you cross the street—but only in Switzerland. In New York, a cab driver might run over you just for being too nice.