Primary schools urged to march for road safety and stop the deaths

Primary schools are being urged once again to take part in the annual giant march for road safety organised by Brake, the road safety charity, to help stop deaths and injuries of children on roads by telling drivers to SLOW DOWN.

On Wednesday 16 June 2010 at 10AM, Brake hopes that a quarter of a million pupils from schools across the UK will march from their school gates at 10am for road safety in a ‘walking bus’, holding banners calling for traffic to slow down. The children will use safe routes around their school to hopefully break the world record for the longest simultaneous walking bus. In 2009 more than 160,000 children took part – the most ever!

This acclaimed and great fun annual event helps raise awareness of the vulnerability of children to speeding traffic and the need for drivers to slow down in communities, and also helps inspire children and parents to walk more rather than take the car. Schools also have a great opportunity to use road safety as a project subject in lessons across the curriculum – children have a lot to say about road safety and find it a stimulating topic.

Why take part!

• Every DAY on UK roads 4 children under 12 are killed or seriously hurt on foot or bicycles. That’s a classroom of kids every single week.
• The event is a fun, practical way to tie-in life-saving road safety lessons in line with PSHE requirements and ‘Every Child Matters’.
• Schools that take part receive FREE stickers and posters for the children and get a termly e-newsletter packed with road safety learning tips.

• The event promotes healthy and environmentally-sound travel choices to children and parents.
• The event raises awareness about the importance of children’s safety on roads in your community and your school’s profile – local newspapers love to cover it!
• Brake provides children with sponsorship envelopes for the event, helping to raise vital funds for the charity’s work supporting families bereaved and injured by road crashes. In 2009 schools raised £60,000 for our work.
• Schools can be part of a Guinness World Record!

Sarah Fatica, general manager at Brake, says: “By taking part, schools can play a key role in promoting walking and calling on drivers to slow down, as well as help support families bereaved by road crashes by raising funds for Brake’s helpline. Taking part in the march is also great fun – in 2009 schools personalised their giant walking buses and brought terrific regional attention to the issue in all sorts of ways, from leading their marches with a child playing the bagpipes to making sandwich board road safety campaign placards for all the children to wear! Get active and get marching on 16 June!”

Schools need to register to take part by contacting Brake on 01484 559909 or by email at walkingbus@brake.org.uk In return, Brake sends stickers and certificates for children, posters for display around your school carrying road safety messages for children and parents, and also provides teachers with access to an on line education tool kit.

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