Dornoch pupils suggest policeman scarecrow could solve road safety problems
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Dornoch Primary School pupils and nursery children took part in Road Safety Week.
The event, organised by the road safety charity Brake, is the biggest annual road safety awareness event in the UK.
Every 20 minutes, someone is killed or seriously injured on a British road and each of these tragedies is preventable.
The theme for this year’s campaign is to Step up for Safe Streets and learn about and celebrate the solutions that will allow everyone to get around in safe and healthy ways, every day.
The week kicked off with Police Scotland coming along to the school assembly to talk to the pupils about road safety.
Everyone enjoyed their visit especially a couple of children who were chosen to try on the policemen’s high viz jackets and hats.
The nursery and P1 pupils took part in a Beep Beep! Day with activities specially designed for early years pupils inspired by the popular CBeebies television programme Timmy Time.
As well as taking part in road safety lessons and a colouring competition, many pupils gave up their lunch break to attend a consultation workshop held by the parent council to gather their feedback on what could be done to improve road safety around the town, in particular on the road outside the school, and to comment on where they felt the danger zones were in Dornoch.
Some of the issues that the children highlighted were: Drivers going too fast on the Evelix road outside the school; the confusing crossing on Evelix Road; how it is difficult to cross Poles Road – as the lollipop lady is only there at school opening and closing times (if you have to walk at another time of day or in the holidays it is dangerous); the beach car park – big cars and caravans reversing and not looking for children; cars going too fast past school bus stops on rural roads; cars in Embo “appearing out of nowhere” on the small, windy roads; fear of cycling on rural roads, due to fast cars; fear of being in a car as a passenger on the A9 due to other dangerous drivers.
Some of the solutions that the children came up with were: Scarecrows outside the school dressed as police telling drivers to slow down; traffic lights in the centre of town to help them cross at the square; lower speed limits; poster campaign to ask drivers to slow down.
