Partnership bring HGVs into schools for special project

In 2001, South Lanarkshire Council and Wincanton, one of the country’s largest logistics firms, joined forces to deliver a ground breaking project to teach children about the road safety issues surrounding heavy goods vehicles. Following a successful first year, the two partners refined and repeated the initiative in 2002.

A team of Wincanton drivers worked with the council’s RSO in a programme of visits to schools across South Lanarkshire. "We wanted to devise an exercise that would grab the children’s interest and raise their awareness of the dangers associated with HGVs,’ said Scott Blyth, operations manager at Wincanton’s East Kilbride base. "So, with the support of Argos, we took along one of their vehicles to schools to get the message across."

The 2002 programme began in April and concluded in June and six primary schools - all in locations where there is a high level of HGV traffic - were targeted.

The Argos HGV was parked in the school car park or close by and children from year group five, six or seven were taken through a series of specially devised activities. During the exercise they were given the opportunity to see things from the driver’s perspective as well as appreciate the sheer size of the vehicle. To highlight the problem of ‘blind spots’ each child sat behind the wheel in the cab, while a Wincanton representative explained the challenges of driving one of the heaviest vehicles on the road.

At the end the children completed a worksheet about the dimensions and road handling of HGVs and also entered a competition to design a poster illustrating what they had learned in the session. Prizes (kindly donated by sponsors Argos and Transline) were awarded for the best entry from each school as well as for the overall winner.

"We had a great response from the children taking part who were very enthusiastic and submitted many superb posters," said Eleanor Gibson, South Lanarkshire Council’s RSO. "The competition re-enforced what the children learned on the day and I think the high standard of entries is a good indicator of the overall success of the project."

Further information about this initiative can be obtained from Eleanor Gibson, Road Safety Officer, South Lanarkshire Council, Montrose House, Hamilton ML3 0AA. Tel 01698 453617 or
Fax 01698 453672.