Road safety campaign for schoolchildren

Press, 1 February 1983, Page 2

Road safety campaign for schoolchildren

Traffic officers will be concentrating on schools over the next two weeks. The Ministry of Transport has started a campaign to make motorists more aware of schoolchildren, especially new entrants. "About 40.000 new road users nationally will be taking to the streets in the next couple of days and we want to make motorists aware of the risks," said the district traffic superintendent, Mr J. C. Butterfield. “We are especially trying to educate parents. “Quite often when they drop off or pick up children they either park too close to the crossings or they stop across the road from the school.

"When they park too close to the crossing they impede the visibility of other motorists. Also, small children cannot see over these cars and have to walk out on to the road to see if cars are coming." he said. Mr Butterfield said that parents who stopped opposite the gates of the school encouraged their children to run across the road. "As soon as the child sees the family car he will run straight for it. not worrying about other cars or the crossing." Mr Butterfield said that there were several points parents should be aware of before taking their children to school for the first time.

• Walk the route to school with the child pointing out the hazards. • Help the child al the school crossing and make him aware of the patrols. • Park the car on the same side as the school so the child does not have to cross the road. • Make sure that children go straight home after school and have a safe place to play. "Our officers will be on duty at the schools over the next week or so, watching the pedestrians and the motorists. We will use the micro-wave to check the speed of cars near schools and our officers will be advising parents and children." Mr Butterfield said.