Pupils in Cockermouth are to be given an intensive day’s training into road safety that will involve them meeting a road accident victim and learning about the destructive power of cars through a high-performance rally racer.
The event takes place on March 23rd at Cockermouth School, where print and broadcast media are invited to attend the morning’s Road Awareness Training for Year 10 pupils beginning at 8:50am.
Hard-hitting films on the dangers of pedestrians using mobile phones or iPods will be shown. There will be a media opportunity to talk to children learning about road safety as well as to interview Cumbria Constabulary’s Steve Turnbull, Superintendent of Uniform Operations, and Cumbria Fire & Rescue’s Dave Edgar.
At 10:20am pupils will have the chance to explore an M-Sport Rally Car and see how its safety features compare with a standard on-the-road vehicle. A safety camera van will also be at the school, so pupils can learn that killing speed can save lives. There will also be a competition for pupils to come up with a caption for a road safety poster. The prize will be a tour of M-Sport’s facilities.
"It's important to get children thinking about safer driving at the right age. Year 10 pupils still have a couple of years to go before they're old enough to get behind the wheel of a car, but we can start showing them that a car can be deadly if it's driven irresponsibly. Hard-hitting messages are the best way to make sure they finish the day vowing to be safe drivers once they start," said Councillor Geoff Hodgson, cabinet member responsible for road safety.
There will be a total of nine Road Awareness Training sessions for 240 pupils throughout the day. Other year groups will focus on issues including human rights, racism, team building and drugs awareness as part of the school’s ‘Life Day’.
The Road Awareness Training has been co-ordinated by Safer Roads for Cumbria - the partnership organisation of Cumbria County Council and its Fire & Rescue Service, Highways Agency, Cumbria Constabulary, Capita, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, the Primary Care Trusts, Freight Transport Association, Road Haulage Association and Cumbria Safety Cameras.