Road Safety Week Success
November 30, 2018
The Council in partnership with local haulage company McCulla Transport and Dennison Commercials, successfully promoted National Road Safety Week from 18- 23 November at a number of local primary schools.
The aim of the joint project was to educate schoolchildren about the ‘STOP, LOOK, WAVE’ initiative as a contribution to their safety on the roads. The Council’s Environmental Health Service supported this initiative.
Councillor Janet Gray MBE, Chair of the Council’s Environmental Services Committee, said: “I am delighted that a local haulage company has proactively worked to raise awareness with primary schoolchildren in the Council area about the dangers of roads and lorries. McCulla Transport and lorry supplier Dennison Commercials definitely created a strong and powerful education session for our children giving them tips on how to act safely on the road.
“During each event the children were involved in an interactive story that set the scene about traffic safety with all sizes of vehicles in a fun way. The classroom based activity included facts about trucks such as their size, the jobs they are used for; and emphasised the risks involved in being near lorries and the limited sight lines that lorry drivers have. The children had the opportunity to get involved with a model street mat, which brought the story to life using model trucks and figures to enact traffic situations.”
Leona Morrow, Compliance and Training Manager at McCulla Transport added: “We are really passionate about safety within McCulla and with Road Safety Week coming up we knew that this would be a perfect opportunity to engage with the local community. We have a number of schools close to our Lisburn depot and we wanted to reassure families that their safety is a priority for us.
“Taking the time to interact with the pupils really brought to life the potential dangers that our vehicles can pose to their safety and how they can protect themselves. We partnered with Dennisons and the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council so that we could spread this message to as many children as possible and are grateful for all the support that they have given us.”
The finale of each event was the chance for the children to experience the limitations to a driver’s visibility using a full-size McCulla truck parked in the playground. On seeing the size of the truck they also experienced first-hand the importance of making eye contact with the driver to ensure that you are seen.
All the schoolchildren that took part in ‘STOP, LOOK, WAVE’ received a free high-vis vest which they are encouraged to wear on a daily basis when out walking.