Pupils in Darlington are returning to the streets to receive practical lessons in road safety, for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
The town-wide pedestrian training programme had to stop during the pandemic but now restrictions have eased, pupils are meeting Darlington Borough Council’s road safety team for regular sessions.
The free pedestrian training programme, which sees trainers take pupils out of school to give them practical road safety lessons, is aimed at Year 1, 2 and 3 pupils.
The emphasis is on children making their own decisions about traffic and road safety under close supervision from their pedestrian trainer. The sessions take place close to school so the children get used to roads they will have to cross on a regular basis.
Pupils and trainers wear high visibility jackets to ensure they are seen by oncoming traffic.
Andy Keir, cabinet member for local services, said: “Good road and traffic sense is essential. By teaching pupils road and pedestrian safety skills from an early age, we hope they stay safe as they grow up.
“I am delighted that after a break from training because of the pandemic, we are now able to offer this valuable programme to children again.”
This is fine, except for the fact that pre-teen children cannot be relied upon to protect themselves on the roads where speeds are above 20mph. And of course, is it a condition of all future use of streets by children that they wear hi-viz?
It perhaps shows the lack of confidence in the efficacy of training and the conditions on roads that hi-viz is required to do the simplest of things such as walking in their neighbourhood. And let’s remember that the AA found that 80% of child casualties occur when not travelling to or from school.
Maybe the councillors in Darlington could also be trained in viewing streets from the height of an 8-year old. Then they could address the problems of motors driving at a speed that children cannot accurately recognise the risk they pose.
Rod King, Lymm
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