OTHER
NEWS IN BRIEF - W/C 19 JULY 2004  |
Brake launches Beep
Beep! Day for nurseries and playgroups
Brake, the road safety charity, in partnership with Green
Flag Motoring Assistance, is encouraging early-years educators
to stage a Beep Beep! Day at nurseries and playgroups between
1 August and 12 September.
Beep Beep! Day gives early-years carers the opportunity to teach
children as young as two years old simple road safety messages,
such as ‘always hold hands with an adult when close to roads’,
and the importance of the word ‘stop’ when there is
danger from traffic.
According to Brake, 24 children, aged 0-6 years, are injured on
the roads every day and one child in this age range dies every
week
On Beep Beep! Day, nurseries or playgroups can choose either to
take children on a sponsored short supervised toddle, using safe
pavements outside their premises, or allow them to bring a ride-on
toy and learn road safety lessons in the playground.
Brake will send participating nurseries and playgroups a free
guide on teaching road safety, safety guidelines on running the
event and a sponsorship envelope and sticker for each participating
child. After the event each child will receive a certificate for
taking part.
Beep Beep! Day information packs can be obtained from Brake, 01484
559909 or beepbeep@brake.org.uk.
Details are also available at www.greenflag.com.
"There is currently a shortage of road safety education for
very young children and we support Brake in its aim to fill this
gap through Beep Beep! Day," said Green Flag’s Melanie
Denny.
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RoSPA
to push driver training
RoSPA is looking for ways to persuade people to take extra
driver training after they have passed their driving test. The
Society says that refresher training helps people improve their
driving and reduces the likelihood of crashes – but that
little is known about it, which is why most people don’t
participate.
Supported by DfT, RoSPA is aiming to identify the schemes that
are available, and how people can be persuaded to use them.
"Poor driving is the major reason for crashes yet only a
tiny proportion of motorists ever look for ways to improve their
standards behind the wheel," said Kevin
Clinton, RoSPA’s head of road
safety. "We want to know what prompts that minority to undertake
training and what puts other people off the idea. We also want
to learn more about the schemes that are available and if people
are aware of them."
Drivers who have undertaken further driver training, and those
who have not, will be interviewed. The findings will be used to
establish how more people can be encouraged to take refresher
training and the best ways to promote it.
People providing post-test voluntary refresher or advanced driving
courses - excluding Pass Plus, Driver Improvement, Drink Drive
Rehabilitation, Speed Awareness and fleet driver training - are
asked to send details to Kevin Clinton, kclinton@rospa.com.
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Starting
young in Blaenavon
Children from Blaenavon have been learning about road safety through
stories and play at Blaenavon library, where Bookstart early years
worker Sue Bradfield has been using Children’s Traffic Club
resources to get the message across.
Bookstart is a national initiative run by Torfaen Library Service
for children of five and under. The scheme introduces children to
books at a young age to advance children’s literacy.
The Children’s Traffic Club is a series of six books that parents
can use to teach their children how to stay safe on the roads. The
books are specially designed for the child’s educational level,
starting with basic things like holding hands to stay safe at age
three, and moving on to issues such as crossing between parked cars
and the school crossing patrol in the last book, by which time the
child is four and a half.
At present all three year olds in Torfaen can join the Children’s
Traffic Club for free through funding from the Welsh Assembly Government
and Torfaen Council.
For additional information contact Penny
Thorpe on 01633 463376 or Penny.Thorpe@capita.co.uk. |
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Children's
road safety inspired through design
Four regional winners have been selected from over 8,000 UK-wide
entries to BMW’s Safe on the Street competition.
Primary schools from across the UK participated in the competition,
which comprised five multiple choice questions, followed by a
tiebreaker to design a road safety mouse mat. Schools were encouraged
to hold their own competition and submit the top entry from each
Year Group. Over 8,000 schoolchildren participated in the programme.
The competition increased the number of hits to the BMW education
website www.bmweducation.co.uk in May from a monthly average of
450,000 to just under 1.5 million.
"BMW is delighted that the competition provided an opportunity
for young people to develop their artistic skills at the same
time as providing valuable tips on road safety," said Jim
O'Donnell, managing director of
BMW Great Britain.
The regional winning schools are:-
- Year
3/P4: Stoke Hill First School, Stoke Hill, Exeter, Devon.
- Year
4/P5: Glenelg Primary School, Glenelg, Maryland, Scotland.
- Year
5/P6: Parkdale Primary School, Carlton, Nottingham.
- Year
6/P7: Coughton CE Primary School, Coughton, Alcester, Warwickshire.
For
further information contact Rosemary
Davies, BMW public relations manager.
Rosemary.Davies@bmw.co.uk
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