To mark the country’s biggest road safety event, Road Safety Week, our Child Road Safety presenters delivered our Child Road Safety Programme to over 500 children in just one week. Presenters visited seven schools across the UK over the week to raise awareness of the dangers on the road.

Child Road Safety Programme

Our Child Road Safety Programme is a free of charge programme which Gist delivers to local communities surrounding our depots. Since the programme began in 2011 our presenters have delivered the programme to over 70,000 children. The programme targets children aged five -11 and aims to teach them about the dangers around larger vehicles as well as general road safety and advice on staying safe on the roads, whether on foot or cycling.

Throughout Road Safety Week our presenters took time out from their normal working day to visit local schools with one of our lorries to deliver a lesson to remember.

As well as a presentation the children also got a chance to go outside and look at the lorry to see for themselves the sheer size of the vehicle and how this impacts the stopping distance through a selection of games. The children all had the chance to go in to the cab and experience the views from the driver’s seat and what a lorry driver sees while out on route.

Valuable Lesson

Mrs Aloy, Year Three Class Teacher at Carlton Road Academy in Boston comments: “Our lesson in road safety was a huge success, all the children really enjoyed themselves and we definitely feel the session was a great way to mark Road Safety Week. The session brought home the potential dangers of trucks and pedestrians on the road, particularly as the children were able to compare themselves to the height and size of the truck in real life.”

Mick Spiller, Child Road Safety presenter at our Spalding Depot explains: “We are really pleased to have delivered several Child Road Safety presentations throughout Road Safety Week. This week is especially important to raise awareness about road safety but it is also a message which needs to be remembered every day. All the kids were really enthusiastic, asking questions and getting involved with all aspects of the presentation. As a company we are so passionate about our Child Road Safety Programme and really hope to inspire a generation that keep themselves safe when out on the road. Our ambition is to help make our communities as safe as possible.”

Martin Gwynn, our CEO, comments: “I am really proud of our Child Road Safety presenters and programme, I think it is a fantastic initiative which makes a difference to so many people. I am impressed to see the great number of children our presenters reached in just one week. The activity was a great success and I am looking forward to seeing how we continue to reach even more children in our communities.”

Find out more about our Child Road Safety Programme and how you can book a visit here.