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Teach kids road safety facts, PSNI urges

With the new school term fast approaching, a PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) road safety officer has urged parents, children and motorists to heed advice to help make Northern Ireland's roads safer.

According to police statistics, a total of 11 children died on Northern Ireland's roads last year, while a further 1,100 sustained injuries. Road policing education officer, constable Bill Holden, revealed that of the youngsters killed, three were pedestrians.

"I would strongly urge parents of young children to reinforce their child's safety at every opportunity by using the Green Cross Code when crossing the road with children," he said. "Very young children should never be allowed to cross the road by themselves, as they cannot judge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic."

Constable Holden also urged parents and minders to ensure that children wear seat belts at all times in vehicles, with infants travelling in suitable child carriers.

"756 young car passengers were injured in road traffic collisions last year," he said. "I am seriously concerned by the attitudes of some adults, who continually permit children to stand between the backs of the front seats in cars and who persist in nursing small infants in the front passenger seat."

East Antrim Assembly member Ken Robinson also used the new school term to reiterate the need for seat belts to be worn at all times. "The beginning of each new school year is an exciting time for children and an extremely busy time for parents," he said. "The added pressures of getting pupils ready, checking school bags and sports gear and meeting a time deadline can lead to a frantic last minute rush to the car. In such a setting, it is easy to overlook checking if the children's seatbelts are correctly secured."

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