The actor David Prowse MBE has resurrected the Green Cross Man after a break of 40 years, this time starring in a new film to remind adults of the importance of a new look Green Cross Code.
The return of the Green Cross Man, courtesy of MORE TH>N, follows research by the insurer which reveals “shocking levels of road recklessness” by adult pedestrians, compounded by headphones and smartphones.
In the MORE TH>N study, 63% of respondents said they regularly cross the road in an “unsafe place” and 87% admitted to walking into the road between parked cars.
The research also suggests that 30% of pedestrians will regularly cross the road while using the internet and social media on their phones, 40% while texting, 60% while on a call and 40% while listening to music.
This “lack of basic road safety knowledge among adults” has prompted MORE TH>N to issue a new Green Cross Code for grown-ups.
The original Green Cross Man and Star Wars actor, David Prowse MBE, returned for Road Safety Week 2014, only this time teaching adults about the importance of stopping, looking and listening when crossing the road.
In the new film the Green Cross Man gives advice to pedestrians listening to music on headphones and using a smartphone while crossing the road.
David Prowse MBE said: “Stop, look and listen: they’ve been the three basic pillars of road safety for decades, but they’re being ignored en masse every single day.
“When the original Green Cross Man public information films ran, road accident rates reduced significantly. But that was in the days before pedestrians wandered around glued to their smartphones or wearing giant headphones, now it appears adults are completely out of practice with road safety.
“Road safety is a real passion point for me. I hope the scenarios in this new film, and MORE TH>N’s Green Cross Code for grown-ups, can have the same positive impact on roadside behaviours as the original series did.
“As I’ve always said, pedestrians need to use the Green Cross Code, because I won’t be there when they cross the road.”
The new Green Cross Code is described as a “short step-by-step procedure designed to enable pedestrians to cross streets safely”. The basic tenets of the original – Stop, Look, Listen, Think – remain but have been updated.
Dan Robinson from MORE TH>N said: “David’s Green Cross Man is one of the most memorable road safety characters of all time, but the important information he dispensed to the nation in the 1970s and 1980s seems to have been forgotten by many.
“With it being Road Safety Week, we felt it was high time the most iconic road safety figure returned to remind Britons everywhere that you’re never too old to use the Green Cross Code.”
Quote: – “shocking levels of road recklessness” by adult pedestrians, compounded by headphones and smartphones.”
Failure to stop look and listen, the very threshold of road safety for all children has been studiously ignored by many for a long time. Instead, the motorist has become the bogey man, and his “speed” the killer. Blame transference – it’s a well known standard.
Derek Reynolds, Salop.
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