Road safety trainer wins national award

No matter what the weather is like, in fact the more varied it is, the better, Derek Thrush is out training youngsters morning and afternoon to stay safe as pedestrians and that includes understanding how different weathers can affect drivers.

Now he is to be presented with the annual Lynda Chalker award by LARSOA, which is announcing the winner at the organisation's annual conference in London on Tuesday. (17 th April)

Derek, now retired, has been a Kerbcraft volunteer with Liverpool City Council for the full five years that the council has received funding and he has trained over 1,500 children aged five to seven all over the city.

Although this year Liverpool City Council will no longer receive Kerbcraft funding, Derek's dedication has not wavered and he will continue to train young people in pedestrian skills in schools.

He also works with churches, with Brownies, Rainbows, Guides, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to help them achieve their road safety badges and helps with reading in schools using the Arrive Alive Guide for under sevens.

Derek has also announced his intention to continue with his speed watch activities which see him spend time out on the streets in communities during school holidays as a visible reminder to motorists to slow down.

Pamela McGuinness, Road safety officer for the council, explains: "Without Derek many young people would not have had the quality of road safety training they have had. We are sure that in the five years he has worked with children he has made a valuable contribution to road safety schemes and had an impact on casualty reduction."

Simon Ettinghausen, Chair of LARSOA, says: "It is people like Derek who unselfishly give their time and energy to road safety who really help make a difference. Educating children at a young age on road safety is effective in giving them a message they will carry with them for life. We are delighted to be giving the award this year to someone who has made such a big contribution to road safety."

Derek says: "I know how important it is that young people learn about road safety and I know how stretched resources can be so I wanted to play my part in educating children. If I can help save anyone from being involved in an accident then my job has been worthwhile."

The Lynda Chalker award is presented annually by LARSOA to an individual or organisation who has contributed significantly to road safety in the UK. Lynda Chalker (now Baroness Chalker of Wallasey) presented LARSOA with a carriage clock to be used for the award when she was transport minister in the 1980s.

Previous award winners include Radio Clyde, Vicki Stone MBE and Peter Bottomley MP.

ABOUT LARSOA

LARSOA is a national road safety organisation representing road safety officers (RSOs) employed in local government across the UK.

LARSOA represents 185 of the 200 eligible local authorities across the UK, assisting RSOs to fulfil their statutory role to reduce the number and severity of road casualties through education, training and publicity programmes.

LARSOA publishes an up-to-date round-up of road safety news from across the UK on its website www.larsoa.org.uk .

LARSOA also aims to influence national debate - government policy and action together with public opinion. The association works to achieve national recognition for road safety issues, commissions research into behaviour which contributes to road collisions and develops national road safety campaigns.

The association assists in identifying achievable national targets to reduce the number of collisions on the country's roads.