Monday 2nd August 2004

Beep Beep Day

Green Flag bring road safety message to toddlers

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Green Flag Motoring Assistance to support of an initiative aimed at encouraging greater road safety skills for pre-school children.

The breakdown and recovery provider has agreed to sponsor Beep Beep! Day, a scheme created by national road safety charity, Brake. With Green Flag's support, the charity will provide nurseries and playgroups that register their interest with the learning materials to run a special education event for children 0-6 years.

Teachers and carers  can stage a Beep Beep! Day any day between August 1 and September 12.

The campaign that starts this week (from August 2) includes direct mail, national and targeted press advertising in specialist educational publications. Further information has been introduced to Green Flag's website and the campaign will be backed up with PR.

On the Beep Beep! Day, nurseries or playgroups can choose either to take children on a sponsored short supervised 'toddle', using safe pavements outside their premises, or allow them to bring a 'ride-on' toy and learn road safety lessons in the playground.

Every day 24 children, aged 0-6 years, are injured on the roads and one child in this age range dies every week. Brake and Green Flag hope that 10,000 children across the UK will take part in the Beep Beep! Day and raise awareness of the importance of child pedestrian safety to children, educators, parents and those drivers who drive too fast in residential areas and outside nursery schools and playgroups.

Brake will send participating nurseries and playgroups a free guide on teaching road safety to use on the day, safety guidelines on running the event and a sponsorship envelope and sticker for each participating child.

[zumbruk]

Hmmm. BRAKE. although superficially an excellent idea, I expect this will mostly consist of anti-car propoganda. Anyone seen one of these teaching packs?

[whatever]

BRAKE! would do well to address some of the problems with mothers (and it's usually mothers, but the accusation holds true for fathers) dropping their kids off at the nursery like it's some sort of racing driver change.

So much aggression and disregard for other people's safety, from what I've seen, anyway. All probably caused by people just being late.

[SGirl]

I like the theory, but over my dead body is SBaby's nursery taking him out for a toddle on the road - sorry, safe pavement near a road - just to prove a point and raise money for Brake!! Whose bright idea was that? Not someone who works at a nursery with dozens of boisterous toddlers, I suspect.

We specifically chose the nursery he's in because there's absolutely no way he can get anywhere near a proper road, even if he makes a break for freedom on his own.

I'll watch out for one of these packs heading our way though.

[v8thunder]

Just seen a news report that says we're tailgating too much on motorways (I have the theory that we're looking at our speed too much to notice the car in front). The conclusion? Slow down. That it? No wonder there's a problem.

In Clarkson's column last month he outlined the sort of road safety information his daughter gets at school. She's about 9, and their road safety seems to consist of a load of propaganda about cars, much of it environmental. There's very little practical advice at all. All she's been taught is to hate cars (which, given her household, doesn't wash at all!).

When I was 9, I wanted to hoon around everywhere in a Bentley at 100 mph, and we learnt about how cars worked in technology lessons, alongside the Green Cross Code. Now, I wonder whether a kid could tell you how to cross the road properly at all.

Any PHers with kids care to enlighten us as to what they get 'taught' at school these days?

[Flat in Fifth]

v8thunder said:

When I was 9, I wanted to hoon around everywhere in a Bentley at 100 mph, and we learnt about how cars worked in technology lessons, alongside the Green Cross Code. Now, I wonder whether a kid could tell you how to cross the road properly at all. Any PHers with kids care to enlighten us as to what they get 'taught' at school these days?

Well Miss FiF (14) wants a Carrera GT when she grows up, will be starting the IAM young drivers scheme next birthday.

As for what they are taught I can't say about anti-car stuff.

What they are taught in science is at times the biggest load of politically correct b*llsh*t it has ever been my misfortune to read. Took it up with the teacher one parent's evening, didn't quite end up at blows.

However daughter taking in one of my (peer-reviewed) papers next day showing that actually I DID know what was being discussed better than the teacher didn't help in her course marks.

Mind you duaghter being overheard mentioning the teacher was a "two-faced forked-tongued numpty" might not have helped.

[v8thunder]

Good to see someone's got some sense then - got to keep politics out of it!

[SGirl]

Flat in Fifth said:

Mind you duaghter being overheard mentioning the teacher was a "two-faced forked-tongued numpty" might not have helped.

I like it!

We've already started teaching SBaby that fast cars are for nice people who are clever, and buses are things you have to use until you're old enough to drive a car.