Road safety week will focus on children
Friday, 19th November 2010.
Road Safety Week in Suffolk is being launched with a Road Safety Awareness day at the Asda supermarket in Bury St Edmunds between 10am and 3pm on Sunday.
The multi-agency event will precede Brake Road Safety Week, which runs from Monday to the following Sunday.
Brake is a charity that provides advice for road users and support for road collision victims and carers, and the theme for this year’s safety week is ‘Kids say slow down’.
Suffolk police's roads policing and safer neighbourhood team officers will be attending the event, which will aim to educate children and their parents about road safety.
In particular it will focus on children’s safety on pedal cycles. With this in mind children are invited to bring their bikes along with them and have them checked.
Members of the public who attend the day can test their skills in a Suffolk Road Safety driving simulator and their reaction times against a light wall.
There will also be a tombola and separate quizzes for children and adults with prizes of a child’s cycles donated by Micks cycles of Bury St Edmunds and an Asda (alcohol-free) Christmas hamper.
Halfords have donated vouchers, as have HiQ who will also give members of the public a free winter check on their car.
The younger visitors to the launch will have a chance to sit in a police car and the ambulance service will also be attending alongside the fire service who will be bringing one of their fire engines.
A number of West Suffolk College students who are currently taking a public service course, have volunteered to help out at the event.
Sgt Clare Mowson of the Bury roads policing unit said: “This event will be very enjoyable for the whole family, with fun and informative displays and activities for everyone.
"We want to speak to as many people as we can and encourage people to bring their children along to enjoy the day and learn a little bit about staying safe near the roads.”
Brake is calling on all drivers to improve the safety and quality of life of children using roads in their communities by slowing down.
Speeding or travelling too fast for conditions was identified as a contributory factor to 575 road deaths in 2009.
Katie Shephard, general manager for Brake, said: “Road Safety Week is a great opportunity for companies to raise awareness about road safety, so we’re really pleased that Suffolk Police are supporting our campaign and encouraging other companies such as Halfords and Bike Safe to get involved too.
"Holding an awareness day will encourage people to think about their safety on the roads and Suffolk Police are giving this information out in a fun and creative way.
"For a society that places so much importance on the safety and wellbeing of our children, it is shocking and unacceptable that so many children die and suffer appalling injuries on our roads.
"We’re appealing to all drivers to make a
commitment to slow down to 20mph when driving in communities - this simple step means you have a good chance of being able to stop in time if a child runs out in front of you, so it could save a life.”
Suffolk Constabulary will be supporting the campaign as they continue to work to reduce casualties on Suffolk’s roads.
Insp Zoe Finn of the roads policing unit said: “Road safety is a top priority for Suffolk Police and, together with our partners through Suffolk RoadSafe, we are working hard to drive down the number of serious and fatal road traffic collisions on the county’s roads.
"Speeding is one of the main causes of fatal and
serious injury collisions and many of these collisions are avoidable. If we can teach children about road safety at a young age then hopefully they will be more aware when they are out on their bikes by roads and it will be something they practice when they begin to learn to drive in the future.”
Safer neighbourhood teams across the county will be incorporating road safety messages into their community engagement throughout Brake Week.
Further information on safer driving in Suffolk can be found at www.suffolkroadsafe.net
The multi-agency event will precede Brake Road Safety Week, which runs from Monday to the following Sunday.
Brake is a charity that provides advice for road users and support for road collision victims and carers, and the theme for this year’s safety week is ‘Kids say slow down’.
Suffolk police's roads policing and safer neighbourhood team officers will be attending the event, which will aim to educate children and their parents about road safety.
In particular it will focus on children’s safety on pedal cycles. With this in mind children are invited to bring their bikes along with them and have them checked.
Members of the public who attend the day can test their skills in a Suffolk Road Safety driving simulator and their reaction times against a light wall.
There will also be a tombola and separate quizzes for children and adults with prizes of a child’s cycles donated by Micks cycles of Bury St Edmunds and an Asda (alcohol-free) Christmas hamper.
Halfords have donated vouchers, as have HiQ who will also give members of the public a free winter check on their car.
The younger visitors to the launch will have a chance to sit in a police car and the ambulance service will also be attending alongside the fire service who will be bringing one of their fire engines.
A number of West Suffolk College students who are currently taking a public service course, have volunteered to help out at the event.
Sgt Clare Mowson of the Bury roads policing unit said: “This event will be very enjoyable for the whole family, with fun and informative displays and activities for everyone.
"We want to speak to as many people as we can and encourage people to bring their children along to enjoy the day and learn a little bit about staying safe near the roads.”
Brake is calling on all drivers to improve the safety and quality of life of children using roads in their communities by slowing down.
Speeding or travelling too fast for conditions was identified as a contributory factor to 575 road deaths in 2009.
Katie Shephard, general manager for Brake, said: “Road Safety Week is a great opportunity for companies to raise awareness about road safety, so we’re really pleased that Suffolk Police are supporting our campaign and encouraging other companies such as Halfords and Bike Safe to get involved too.
"Holding an awareness day will encourage people to think about their safety on the roads and Suffolk Police are giving this information out in a fun and creative way.
"For a society that places so much importance on the safety and wellbeing of our children, it is shocking and unacceptable that so many children die and suffer appalling injuries on our roads.
"We’re appealing to all drivers to make a
commitment to slow down to 20mph when driving in communities - this simple step means you have a good chance of being able to stop in time if a child runs out in front of you, so it could save a life.”
Suffolk Constabulary will be supporting the campaign as they continue to work to reduce casualties on Suffolk’s roads.
Insp Zoe Finn of the roads policing unit said: “Road safety is a top priority for Suffolk Police and, together with our partners through Suffolk RoadSafe, we are working hard to drive down the number of serious and fatal road traffic collisions on the county’s roads.
"Speeding is one of the main causes of fatal and
serious injury collisions and many of these collisions are avoidable. If we can teach children about road safety at a young age then hopefully they will be more aware when they are out on their bikes by roads and it will be something they practice when they begin to learn to drive in the future.”
Safer neighbourhood teams across the county will be incorporating road safety messages into their community engagement throughout Brake Week.
Further information on safer driving in Suffolk can be found at www.suffolkroadsafe.net
Comment on this story
[board listing] [login] [register]
You must be logged in to post messages. (login now)