How do I explain to a 2.5yr old the importance of staying safe/danger from traffic?

[Caz10]

DD 2.5 is a total bolter, will be walking along quite calmly then shoot off etc.

We walk loads, don't use the car much at all, so she gets lots of practice at crossing roads etc, and I have tried really hard to teach her about stopping, looking etc.

I know she is only little and obviously this is an on-going process, but little friends the same age at least stop when their parents shout STOP! It only seems to serve to make her go faster, even when I am using the "this is extremely serious"/panicked fishwifey tones of voice.

Have talked about cars being, big and dangerous etc, and she will cheerily tell you that a car could squish you, but thinks this is hilarious

Any hints as to how to get her to take this a bit more seriously?

Assume that you can't I hate to make your obvious anxiety even greater, but a little girl of this age was killed round the corner from here a couple of weeks ago the day before starting nursery.

Her mum had just left a corner shop with her and crossed a side street, when the toddler turned round and stepped off the kerb into the path of a reversing car which may, of course, not have been looking, or may just not have seen her. She was killed instantly.

Children of this age need to be glued to an arm. They are far too young to have the remotest idea of what road safety means or how cars or drivers might behave.

This is a grim tale and of course your child will be okay under your loving supervision, but it's not worth taking any risks, even for a second.

So sad aegeansky

I bet that car was not even going particularly fast either if it was reversing, terrifying.

I sing a little rhyme whenever we have to watch out for traffic and we play jumping to the side of the road.