I was heavily pregnant, marooned on the busy highway courtesy of a flat tyre, oblivious to the danger of where I was standing.

Then, my leather-clad saviour’s motorbike roared to a stop and I heard him yell, “Move away from the front of your car love, someone’ll run up the back of it and you’ll be a goner! ”  Then this stranger helped me change the tyre and went on his way.

Think about the moments in your life you’ve needed help from a stranger or a neighbour.

But over-protection of our kids may mean they will be too afraid to ask for help from a stranger, even when their safety is in jeopardy.

Our worry about crime and safety is a major obstacle to building safety from the ground up, in our neighbourhoods. We lament that our streets are unsafe, then dig away the neighbourly-bonds that create that security in the first place.

Allowing kids to play outdoors with friends is seen as negligent parenting these days, with 61 per cent of parents too fearful to let their children play outside, according to a 2012 Planet Ark study.

Our neighbours’ values are their business, but we must make ourselves  make the connections even if there are value gaps.

A reality check reveals that the bogey-man (evil-stranger) represents a small proportion of those who perpetrate crimes against children.  Statistics show that 90 per cent of these crimes are committed by a person known to the child.

Yes, our kids need plenty of safety advice, commonsense and appropriate supervision. But let’s remember a street today is a highway later in life – a friendliness stepping-stone, a way to assess whether someone is trustworthy.

If we want our society to be healthy and connected it is up to us and we can start with our own street.

My unborn son and I were helped by a stranger on the highway 14 years ago. Nowadays too, if my son is home alone, he feels safe in seeking help from people who were strangers to us just a few years ago – if he happens to need it.

We can responsibility for ourselves and enlist our biggest resource against crime – get to know our neighbours and extend a friendly exchange with those we come across – and accept the fact that most strangers out there want to help us.  If they are given the chance.