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{{unreferenced, date=March 2013 In Germany and Switzerland, a traffic cadet ( German ''Verkehrskadett'', plural ''Verkehrskadetten'') is a young person who manages traffic circulations as a crossing guard at events. They may work alone, but sometimes, they are assisted by police officers or vice versa.


Germany


Organization

The Verkehrskadetten are the organization for youth of the ''Deutsche Verkehrswacht''. They are joined by teenage traffic assistant, which assist the local police, the Code enforcement or the organizing committee at any kind of event.


Legal basis

In laws, Verkehrskadetten are called ''Verkehrshelfer'' ( traffic assistant). The legal basis since 1942 is article 42 of the German Highway Code and sign 356 (left). Until 1992, the sign was called ''Schülerlotse'' (crossing guard).


Education and examination

The training's duration depends on the city. It varies from two weekends to up to five months. The candidates are educated in subjects as the German Highway Code, First aid, Roadside assistance, securing an accident site, and many other things. The examination consists of a theoretical and a practical part.


Operation

The Verkehrskadetten are a part of the ''Verkehrswacht'', but they are managed by themselves. The finance their equipment and vehicles from donations, sponsoring, and the earned money only. Verkehrskadetten are mostly employed at large events, where they assist the traffic. They may secure
pedestrian crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
s or close roads for a bike race. The Verkehrskadetten are also contact people for passersby and respond to their questions.


Leisure time

For rewarding the teens for their work, the Verkehrskadetten often organize leisure activities.


Cooperation between Verkehrskadetten of different cities

At really large events, Verkehrskadetten of different cities are assisting each other, for example at the North Rhine-Westphalia-Day, where more than 70 Verkehrskadetten are working together.


Ranks and structure

The Verkehrskadetten have various ranks, though there are differences between cities. The most common rank order is: *AW/VK-A - Anwärter (Candidate) *VK - Verkehrskadett (Traffic cadet) *OVK - Oberverkehrskadett (Upper traffic cadet) *HVK - Hauptverkehrskadett (Major traffic cadet) *UGL - Untergruppenleiter (Lower group leader) *GL - Gruppenleiter (Group leader) *OGL - Obergruppenleiter (Upper group leader) *HGL - Hauptgruppenleiter (Major group leader) *1.HGL - 1. Hauptgruppenleiter (1st Major group leader)


Destinations

In the Deutsche Verkehrswacht, there are Verkehrskadetten of the following parts of Germany:
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
, Bielefeld, Coburg,
Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
, Düsseldorf,
Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...
, Kreis Kleve, Krefeld, Lichtenfels, Kreis Mettmann, Plauen,
Sulzbach/Saar Sulzbach is a town and a municipality in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany with a population of 16,215 (as of Dec 2015). It is situated approximately northeast of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; R ...
, Landkreis Teltow-Fläming, Landkreis Zwickau, and Solingen. The Verkehrskadetten of Lower Saxony are not members of the Deutsche Verkehrswacht.


Switzerland


Organization

* Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association * Zürcherischer Verkehrskadetten Verband (Zurich Verkehrskadetten Association) In Switzerland, all Verkehrskadetten Departments are members of the Swiss and/or the Zurich Verkehrskadetten Association. The Zurich Verkehrskadetten Association consists of Verkehrskadetten Departments of the canton of Zurich


Legal basis

In Switzerland, the legal basis for Traffic regulation by Verkehrskadetten is given by Article 67 paragraph 1 letter c. of the Signs Regulation Act ''(Signalisationsverordnung)'', which is based upon the Road Traffic Act ''(Strassenverkehrsgesetz)''. Article 67 of the Signs Regulation Act says, that signs and orders of Verkehrskadetten are binding to everyone.


Education and examination

In Switzerland, the education consists for example of transport services, parking, creating detours, usage of two-way radios, and First aid. The candidates are examined by officers of the local or
cantonal The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confe ...
Police Department.


Operation

In Switzerland, the Verkehrskadetten Departments are clubs referred to Article 60 etc. of the Swiss Civil Code. According to that, the Departments are independent. For little money, they can be hired by anyone.


Uniforms

The Verkehrskadetten must be equipped according to norm EN471 (SN471). Members of the Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association are obtaining this rule.


Verkehrskadetten Departments of Switzerland

* Members of the Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association: VKA-Albis, VKA-Appenzellerland, VKA-Aussersschwyz, Kadetten-Korps Basel (KKB), VKA-Bern, VKA-Chur, VKA-Fürstenland, VKA-Glarnerland, Verkehrskadetten Nordwestschweiz (VK-NWS), VKA-Rapperswil-Jona, VKA-St. Gallen, VKA-St. Galler Oberland, VKA-Schaffhausen, VKA-Samstagern-Richerswil, VKA-Winterthur, VKA-Zug, VKA-Zürcher-Oberland, VKA-Zürcher-Unterland und VKA-Zürichsee * Others: VKA-Thurgau und VKA-Oberaargau (not members of the Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association)


See also

* Traffic guard * Crossing guard


References


Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association (German)
Traffic law Road traffic management Pedestrian crossings Road safety