Welcome to Road Safety Wales
19/6/08
Pembrokeshire Children’s Traffic Club has celebrated its fourth year helping children in the County to stay safe.
The anniversary was celebrated in the Nursery at Tenby Infants School. Guests to the party were delighted when the three-year-olds sang the clubs official song. The children also enjoyed party food and games.
Three and four-year-olds learn through play and fun and the Children’s Traffic Club pack is an excellent resource for all parents and guardians to use to encourage the teaching of road safety at such a vulnerable age.
Club activity books introduce friends such as Sammy Seatbelt, Larry Look and Lucy Listen.
Health Visitors from the local health trust deliver invites to the children at their 36 month check up. Membership is free as the registration fee is paid by Pembrokeshire County Council from funding given by the Welsh Assembly Government.Once parents/guardians have registered, their child will receive their first book, followed by a further five every three months after.
Said Pembrokeshire County Councillor Jamie Adams, Cabinet Member for Highways and Planning: “The Children’s Traffic Club is an effective and proven way to deliver road safety to pre-school children. However, the club has received only a 40 per cent uptake in the past year. We would like to see more parents take up the opportunity to receive this free resource for their children.”
The message is reinforced at school early years units, playgroups and nurseries through the Children’s Traffic Club Nursery Pack, where invitations can also be obtained.
* Nursery packs can be acquired free of charge to all school early years units, playgroups and nurseries by contacting County Council road safety education officer Kirstie-Anne Donoghue, Road Safety Education officer, on 01437 775434.
www.trafficclub.co.uk
19/6/08
Road Safety Officers in Swansea Council have restated their intentions to implement slower 20mph limits outside all schools in the area.
The comments come after the Assembly announced plans to launch a consultation into slowing down traffic outside schools in Wales, with emphasis on introducing 20mph limits near to schools.
Jeff Green, Swansea Council's Casualty Reduction Officer, said, "In Swansea, we've installed 20mph zones and limits on roads near schools since 2003.
"The Road Safety Strategy for Wales at that time highlighted the importance of the lower limits. We took that on board quite early on and utilised funding from various sources to implement these measures."
Latest statistics show there are now around 150 streets or roads in Swansea that have a lower 20mph limit, the majority of which, are near schools. One of the most recent schools to benefit from the reduction in speed limits is Oystermouth Primary School. Other schools to benefit from the lower limits include St Thomas Community School and Dunvant Primary.
The Council also states that these lower limits are having the desired effect in helping to reduce road accidents involving children. In Swansea the average number of school children that were involved in accidents when walking to or from school between 1994 and 1998 was 53. The latest figures show this figure has dropped to 22.
Mr Green added, "We're delighted that there has been a decrease in these figures. We are committed to making the streets safer for children and people in communities."
This year a record nine schools in Swansea were successful in obtaining Safe Routes in Communities funding via the annual Transport Grant settlement from WAG. The schools have all worked with the Council's Road Safety Team to address road safety issues specific to them.
John Hague, Cabinet Member for the Environment in Swansea Council, said, "The Safe Routes in Communities scheme is a fantastic way of involving schools and communities in providing safer environments for pedestrians."
16/6/08
This consultation deals with proposals for setting local speed limits in Wales. It is intended that the guidance be used for setting all local speed limits on single and dual carriageway roads in both urban and rural areas.
The consultation builds on the Circular Roads 1/93 (Department of Transport / Welsh Office 1993) report to reflect important developments in speed management and the increased knowledge of the relationship between speed and the risk of collisions. These guidelines bring together the main features of other published guidance on speed limit related issues, in particular the DfT circular 01/2006, including speed related traffic regulation and signing, street lighting, traffic calming, speed limits in villages and 20mph zones and limits. The guidance also gives examples of the types of roads on which particular speed limits might be suitable and sets out key elements of speed limit legislation.
Hard copies of the consultation document can be obtained from:
Martin Dolan
Senior Transport Planner
Capita Symonds
Ty Gwent, Lake View
Llantarnam Park
Cwmbran
NP44 3HR
Date consultation commenced: Friday 6 June 2008 End of consultation: Friday 29 August 2008
Document Download
Setting local speed limits File Size: (498.53 KB)
Setting local speed limits - Questionnaire File Size: (41.5 KB)
10/6/08
South East Wales’ first ever Junior Road Safety Officer forum was held recently at the YMCA Conference Centre, Newport. It was a fun, action packed educational day, with 17 schools and 61 pupils attending on the day.
The Forum had non-stop activities in the morning, including visits from the Fire & Rescue Services and Heddlu Gwent Police. The children had great fun, climbing all over Duffryn Station’s Fire Appliance, two motorway Police cars and a very flashy Roads Policing motorbike. The JRSOs also had a fun lesson in speed. They had to push, two modified shopping trolleys donated by the Safety Camera Partnership, which had been made to look like cars! They had to push these at just 5mph, which is very difficult to do, as surprisingly they travel at roughly 8 miles per hour.
During the lunch break everyone was kept thoroughly entertained by Abersychan Comprehensive’s Band; who sang their very own Road Safety Song and got the children up and dancing with some popular rock tunes!
Afternoon activities included some very impressive circus skills, performed by Luke from Jugglestruck! Luke always teaches the children about light controlled crossings with the help of his Road Safety Dragon, Smokey! The children also had some on road Pedestrian Training, where they were taught the correct and safest way to cross between parked cars. The Pedestrian Training Coordinators were very impressed with the children’s behaviour and knowledge, which is a great recognition of the fact that they are their school’s Road Safety ambassadors!
The afternoon was rounded off with a lesson about moving up to comprehensive school, how using your all of your senses will help to keep you safe on your new journey; and a Road Safety Behaviour Quiz. From the results of the quiz we discovered that, in the opinion of the children, the most dangerous thing about the road outside their school was:
(i) adults speeding; and
(ii) that they have nowhere safe to cross the road due to parked cars;
and that the worst parking offences were:
(i) adults parking on the footpath; and
(ii) parking on double yellow lines.
The event received generous funding contribution from Capita Symonds, Cwmbran; and was supported by the Welsh Assembly Government; and the participating five Local Authorities of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council; Caerphilly County Borough Council; Monmouthshire County Council; Newport City Council and Torfaen County Borough Council.
Becoming a Junior Road Safety Officer School is a responsible step to helping pupils become more aware of the dangers of the road and encouraging them to think about their own safety. For more information, please contact anna.smith@capita.co.uk or 01633 463 296.
5/6/08
Five junior road safety experts from a Swansea school are set to do battle against other schools in South Wales in a regional road safety competition. The star pupils from Pontlliw Primary School will head of to Police Headquarters in Bridgend at the end of June after beating off competition from five other Swansea schools in the recent annual Junior Road Safety Quiz organised by Swansea Council’s Road Safety Team.
All the young quiz competitors in the Swansea heat were tested on their knowledge of road safety issues including correctly identifying road signs and highlighting ways to keep safe when walking to and from school.
The Pontlliw pupils were taken into a tie-breaker with a team from Waunarllwyd Primary after both scoring the same points at the end of the quiz.
Wynford Harris, Head teacher at Pontlliw is delighted at his pupils' achievement. He said, "We've reached the final of the Swansea competition many times but never won so I'm delighted for the pupils and the school. Road safety is such an important topic for all the children to learn. They take it very seriously and they have used many of the key skills we teach them to gather their knowledge.
"The pupils are also keen to pass on what they have learned to their parents. Hopefully this can help us cut down on problems such as parking outside schools.
Jeff Green, Swansea Council’s Road Safety Officer said, “The annual quiz is a great way for young children to learn some of the important lessons relating to road safety.
“All the teams really need to know their stuff if they want to win and represent Swansea.
“The standard this year was very high with all the children showing they have taken on board a lot of the road safety knowledge we try and pass on to them during the year.
“Pontlliw are worthy winners and I hope they go on to be successful in the regional finals this month.”
5/6/08
Safety on the Road - A New Music Resource for Year 2.
Music and Road Safety may seem like a strange partnership but as teachers in Monmouthshire recently discovered, this new and innovative scheme has certainly captured the imagination, struck a chord so to speak!
What started as a classroom scheme of work written for pupils in Thornwell Primary School, Chepstow, has been scaled up and developed into an invaluable teaching resource.
Teachers from primary schools in south Monmouthshire recently attended an INSET training course to learn how to integrate basic road safety messages into a terms music lessons.
Bob Young is the teacher who devised the scheme, formerly of Thornwell Primary School, but now “retired”.
The scheme of work he wrote and presented will now be used in schools in Monmouthshire.
Positive feedback from the course participants justified all the preparation in putting this scheme together,
“Good delivery and pace to training. I found all the ideas, information and activities useful. Good to see how activities used with Year 2 class. Super responses and participation.”
Miriam Buchan, Assistant Head and Year 5 Teacher, Shirenewton Primary School.
“The music content actually fitted the road safety aspect. It didn’t feel forced.”
Marc Williams Music Coordinator, Thornwell Primary School.
29/5/08
Oldcastle Primary School has taken the 2008 Road Safety title after beating off stiff competition at the Odeon Cinemas, Bridgend. Following several preliminary rounds, the Bridgend final proved to be a real test, with lots of hard questions to answer. This was no problem for the finalists however, as the close competition saw runners-up Ysgol Cynwyd Sant beaten only by a 2 point margin, with the other finalists falling in close behind.
Pupils were quizzed on their road safety knowledge by Schools liaison officers PC's Stewart, Warlow and Carpenter. They included questions taken from the 'Arrive alive' book used in classes, the Highway Code and the all important road signs section.
The winners and the runners-up all received plaques to treasure. The Odeon has kindly given the winning and runner-up teams the chance to come and watch a film with their whole class for free!
The Annual Road Safety Quiz does not only provide the schools involved with a lot of fun, but it also plays a vital part in helping youngsters in the Borough 'Arrive Alive', and remain safe on the roads.
Schools Liaison Officer PC Stewart stated "The standard this year has been exceptional, these young people now know more about road safety than many of their parents and teachers. Accidents on the road remain a major concern in the Borough, and with the help of events such as the Road Safety Quiz, the knowledge imparted on these young people will stay with them for life, and enabling them to live in a safer Bridgend."
BCBC Road Safety Officer Simon Ladbroke added "Road Safety is a priority in the County. Well done to all who took part, especially Oldcastle who performed extremely well."
Thanks go out to the Odeon Cinemas, who have very kindly supported the quiz for another year, the BCBC Road Safety team, South Wales Police and of course all the pupils and teachers for coming along.
See you next year!
28/5/08
Motorists who park illegally at Lamphey School will be told about the dangers of doing so by the pupils.
PCSO Kelly Mackay, from the Pembroke Neighbourhood Policing team, has recently held a competition at the school to design a leaflet about illegal parking.
She said: “The school was experiencing lots of problems with illegally parked vehicles and congestion in the village at drop off and pick up times.
“I worked very closely with the school council which is made up of pupils from the school and the junior road safety officers to tackle these issues. I asked all the pupils to design an A5 leaflet to outline the dangers of parking on the zig zags. “The pupils put in a lot of hard work and effort and their leaflets as the competition was very hard to judge. When we first started the initiative some months ago we counted around 35 illegally parked vehicles now there is approximately 8, so together with the junior road safety officers we are aiming to get the last few vehicles to park safely.”
The winner was Madeline Phillips and her winning leaflet will now be distributed to all the illegally parked vehicles at drop off and pick up times at the school to try and educate drivers.
Runners up were: James Davies, Matthew Lewis, William Jones, Abby Smith, James Lewis, Katie McLean, Thomos Lewis and Ellie Dane.
19/5/08
Kerbcraft learners at the presentation ceremony. Also pictured are Karl Napieralla, Director of Education (left) Councillor Arwyn Woolcock (right) and Road Safety Manager Joy Smith (right)
Dedicated Neath Port Talbot volunteers who help youngsters learn the dangers of the roads, have been learning themselves. And now they have been presented with certificates after successfully completing a unique training scheme developed in the county borough.
The 15 volunteers have been studying the equivalent of an NVQ in Child Pedestrian Skills.
The qualification was developed by the Kerbcraft Co-ordinator in conjunction with the Open College Network and Neath Port Talbot Lifelong Learning Service and is unique in Wales.
The Kerbcraft scheme, which has been operating in Neath Port Talbot for the past six years, currently involves 29 schools and is aimed at providing on-road training for children aged between 5 and 7.
Because of their success with the children the volunteers were offered the chance to gain the qualification and now they have received their certificates.
Road Safety Manager Joy Smith said: "We are delighted with the achievement of our volunteers.
"They selflessly give up their free time to train our vulnerable young people and remain cheerful and upbeat whatever the weather. The nationally recognised qualifications they have achieved further enhances our Kerbcraft scheme and goes a small way to repay them for their dedication and hard work."
13/5/08
School transport in Pembrokeshire is to get a major boost, thanks to a cash injection from the Welsh Assembly Government, through the Welsh Local Government Association.
The money will be spent on developing innovative systems to improve safety on school transport. Pembrokeshire County Council - in partnership with authorities in the South West Wales Transport Consortium (SWWITCH) - has been awarded £626,000 from the Assembly for the three year project.
Two new transport development officers, who will work closely with schools and bus companies, have been appointed to lead the programme.
Hubert Mathias, Transport Manager for Pembrokeshire County Council, said they were delighted at the funding, which would be used to improve school transport provision across the County, and should help create a better travel experience for pupils.
“The aim is to develop and implement a range of measures, such as risk assessments of transport routes, CCTV on buses, and driver and pupil training,” he said.
“This is an exciting project and the new development officers will be working closely with schools, pupils, and transport providers over the coming months.”
More than 6,000 pupils use school transport in Pembrokeshire travelling on 270 routes every day. It costs the Council £4.3 million a year to provide the service for children with a statutory entitlement. The service is largely contracted out to Pembrokeshire-based transport operators.
12/5/08
Junior Road Safety Officers in Rhondda Cynon Taf were recently invited by Paula Vincent, Road Safety Project Officer, to take part in a JRSO notice board competition.
Six JRSO schools entered the competition, all working extremely hard to put their efforts together. It proved a very difficult competiton to judge as all the entries were excellent.
Cwmbach Juniors took first prize with Pentre Primary coming a very close second. Congratulations to the JRSOs in the schools that took part.
YGG Bodringallt
Cefn Primary
Cwmbach Juniors
Penrhiwceibr Primary
Pentre Primary
Penygawsi Primary
15/4/08
Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy & Transport, Ieuan Wyn Jones has used the National Assembly for Wales’ historic new lawmaking powers to put forward plans to improve school transport in Wales. The Minister has laid before the Assembly the draft of the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008.
Ieuan Wyn Jones said:
In Wales we know from tragic results that poor behaviour whilst travelling to and from school is a real threat to safety. This measure will provide a framework to improve safety by tackling unacceptable behaviour.
The Measure also represents an important opportunity to deliver improvements for learners through increasing entitlement to transport for young children, making it free for primary school children if they live two miles or further from the nearest suitable school. At present the law is three miles from the age of 8.
The Measure will also allow Local authorities to change school start and finish times in order to make transport arrangements more effective, efficient or environmentally sustainable.
This new legislation will enable real improvements in safety as well as improve access to Welsh-medium education as set out in our ‘One Wales’ programme of government.
Mr Jones said he aimed to have the main provisions in place for the start of the academic year in 2009 and has made clear his intention to seek fresh legislative power for the National Assembly to take further action on bus regulation and safety issues. He said:
The new measure and guidance will be put in place under powers already available. However, through extensive consultation I am aware of widespread concern regarding bus regulation and safety issues – which at present we cannot fully tackle because of constraints on Assembly law-making power.
I will therefore be making the strongest possible case to seek enhancement of the National Assembly’s powers to take the steps needed to ensure maximum safety for our young people.
In the meantime, I am today issuing new guidance to local authorities on Home to School Transport which sets out best practice for the provision of high quality, safe and effective home to school transport for pupils. As well as encouraging checks on drivers and consideration of the benefits of CCTV and use of escorts, I am discouraging the use of the three for two seating concession and of double deck buses for travel to and from school.
15/4/08
Children from across Conwy have been getting into gear to spread the safety message to the county’s school pupils and parents. A poster competition, set up by Schools Liaison Officer PC Chris Perkins, involved 33 schools from across the county where pupils from Year Four, Five and Six were asked to design a bi-lingual poster.
The children were asked to design posters surrounding themes such as inconsiderate parking and speeding vehicles around schools.
Two winners were selected - 10-year-old Catrina Kenyon from Ysgol Nant Coed in Llandudno Junction and 8-year-old Amy Jones from Ysgol Rowen in Conwy.
PC Chris Perkins said: “When we came up with the idea of a poster competition we were hoping for a set of high impact posters to really get home the safety message to parents and pupils. We certainly were not disappointed with the results. The children came up with some great designs and they should be very proud of their efforts.”
The competition was sponsored by North Wales Police, Halfords, ASDA, Conwy County Borough Council and Child Safe Conwy. In a ceremony at the Halfords store in Llandudno, the winners were each given a brand new mountain bike and a framed copy of their poster. Art packs were also donated by ASDA and given to all the finalists. Each entrant also received a £20 gift voucher, courtesy of Child Safe Conwy, to buy a cycling safety kit.
The posters will now be distributed to all schools throughout Conwy county.
PC Perkins added: “I would like to thank all sponsors who were involved with this competition and a special thanks to Halfords, ASDA and Child Safe Conwy for donating some fantastic prizes.
“The poster competition has been a fun way of getting a very serious message across and hopefully it will make people think more carefully about how they drive and park near schools in the future.”
11/4/2008
Six Neath Port Talbot Comprehensive Schools have been taking part in a unique musical approach to road safety. The council's Road Safety unit challenged selected groups of pupils to produce lyrics with a road safety topic for a special recording.
Working with freelance music tutor Geraint Brown they have completed a CD which will be launched at a special event on Friday April 11th at the Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot.
More than 100 pupils were involved in the project and now they will get together to perform their compositions in front of family and friends. The special evening will see the launch of the CD and the concert will also feature local band Friends Electric and compere Claire Scott from The Wave.
Neath Port Talbot's Road Safety Manager, Joy Smith said: "Engaging young adolescents can be difficult and therefore it is important that we do it in a way that is both exciting and rewarding. This project, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, encourages the creative use of music and advertising as a way of getting students to consider and promote awareness of road safety issues through music."
The schools taking part in the project are Sandfields Comprehensive, Cymer Afan Comprehensive, Cwrt Sart Comprehensive, Cwmtawe Comprehensive, Glan Afan Comprehensive and Llangatwg Comprehensive.
The CD will be distributed free of charge to all comprehensive schools, colleges, and youth groups throughout the county borough. The CD focuses on the topics such as the danger and consequences of speeding, use of mobile phones, drink driving, young driver safety, importance of seatbelts and also pedestrian safety.
3/4/08
“On the Road with Tydfil the Tortoise and Eco Eli” is a joint initiative by the Road Safety and Environmental Services departments of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, featuring the Welsh singing duo 'The Gregory Brothers', with the help of Eco Eli and the Council's new road safety mascot Tydfil the Tortoise.
The show aimed to raise awareness of road safety and environmental issues in a fun and entertaining way and helped to assist schools that are participating in road safety projects, such as kerbcraft pedestrian training as well as the Eco schools programme. The show was offered free of charge to all Merthyr Primary Schools and has Welsh and English versions.
Key issues which were covered include taking care of the environment, waste reduction, re-use and recycling, cleaning up after your dog, vehicle pollution, walking to school, crossing the road safely , safe cycling and bicycle maintenance.
Each school received CDs of lyrics and songs written by the Gregory Brothers, Paul and Adrian, prior to the shows to enable the children to familiarise themselves with the lyrics and messages and to encourage them to participate during the show.
The launch of the production took place on the 4th March at Twynyrodyn Community School. A further 26 schools in the County Borough saw the show over a three week period.
Theatre in Education is an excellent and worthwhile method of delivering important messages and this fun packed production with plenty of audience participation and catchy songs offers an ideal opportunity to help provide all primary pupils in the County Borough with an understanding of both road safety and environmental issues
MTCBC's Waste Awareness Officer commented: “I am very pleased that the Road Safety and Environmental Services teams were able to bring the Gregory Brothers, with the help of Tydfil the Tortoise and Eco Eli, into the County Borough giving youngster such an exciting and innovative show that incorporates crucial road safety and environmental messages.
“The Road Safety Officer at MTCBC said: “It is essential that children are educated about the environment and road safety and these entertaining and fun road shows are an excellent way of raising awareness. Not only do they stand alone as a teaching vehicle, but also compliment other schemes already running such as Safe Routes in Communities, and the Eco Schools programme.”
3/4/08
RoSPA has recently produced two Road Safety films which are available on the website for people to watch online.
“Driving for Work” is a short film designed to raise awareness about the risks faced and created by people who drive for work. It is divided into three chapters, each of which features a 'typical' at-work driver; a van delivery driver, a sales representative and a senior manager. The film also features advice from road safety experts and members of the emergency services.
"Carrying Children Safely" is to help parents choose, fit, and use child car seats. It includes an introduction to child car seats and why they are needed, as well as sections on rearward facing seats, forward facing seats, booster seats and booster cushions. It also includes information about the child car seat laws.
In order to play these video clips you will need a copy of the Adobe Flash Player installed on your computer. This is freely available to download here.
20/3/08
Hundreds of schoolchildren are set to benefit from new safety measures following the announcement of over half a million pounds worth of funding. Swansea Council has received confirmation that a record nine primary schools in the city and county will get a share of £531,000 as part of this year's transport grant settlement from the Assembly.
The money has been provided to the schools under the Safe Routes in Communities initiative.
Primary Schools included in the settlement are, Pentrepoeth, Crwys, Hafod, Knelston, Mayals, Plasmarl, Bishopston, Manselton and Penyrheol.
The Council's Safe Routes in Communities Officer has worked with all nine schools, preparing bids and assisting them in developing schemes that would make walking and cycling near to the schools safer. The funding would go towards the cost of installing pedestrian crossings, safety fencing, road humps and even introducing 20mph speed limits.
Allison Gough, Swansea Council's Safe Routes in Communities Officer said, "This is great news that all nine schools that applied for the funding have been successful.
"The schools involved have a direct input into what types of measures are introduced in their communities. This work is vital if we are to encourage more children to take the healthier options of walking or cycling to school."
Initiatives such as the introduction of 20mph speed limits as well as improved road safety education have all helped in reducing the number of road casualty accidents involving children between the ages of 0 - 15.
The Council reported that this figure was down to 109 in 2006. This is more than 50 fewer than ten years ago when the average between 1994-1998 was 165.
John Hague, Cabinet Member for the Environment said, "The Council's road Safety Team is working hard developing new ways to educate children about the dangers on our roads and how they can avoid these dangers.
"This latest settlement will enable us to continue this excellent work and help us protect young children in our communities."
12/3/08
Pentre Primary School is one of three new schools to join the Junior Road Safety Officers scheme launched by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.
Since being appointed as JRSOs for the school, Samual, Kirsty, Kurt and Kelsey have worked with great enthusiasm at putting together a display for the JRSO Notice Board competition. They are also planning to present an assembly to the rest of the school on “Road Safety”.
Pentre Primary Junior Road Safety Officers were the first officers to try out the new T-shirts and baseball hats purchased by the Road Safety Unit from Logo Embroidery.
Schools already participating in the scheme are Aberdare Town Church in Wales, Brynnau Primary, Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Bodringallt, Cefn Primary, Darran Park Primary and Penrhiwceiber Primary. Pentre is latest of three new schools to join the scheme along with Cwmbach Juniors and Penygawsi Primary Schools.
The Junior Road Safety Officers scheme aims to encourage road safety awareness in schoolchildren. The children’s roles are to help their local Road Safety Officer promote road safety issues with the school and the local community.
It enables the children themselves to highlight road safety issues that affect them and allows children to let adults know what kind of road safety education they would like. It also helps Road Safety Officers promote topics that have been identified as a major issue.
Councillor Eudine Hanagan, Cabinet Member for Better Public Services and Transport said: “The children have very important roles to play in promoting road safety in the school throughout competitions, notice boards and arranging events.
“I’m sure they will benefit hugely from the experience and will help to highlight road safety issues not only within the school but to the wider community. This is a fantastic initiative and I want to congratulate everyone involved in its ongoing success.”
7/3/08
A new vehicle activated sign has been erected at New Warren, Mold Road in Broughton. Councillors Ros Griffiths, Billy Mullin and Derek Butler have welcomed the new traffic calming measure. This road safety initiative is an initial part of a number of planned road infrastructure improvements for the village.
Councillor Butler said: “We hope this new sign will encourage drivers to travel through the village at a safe speed.”
Councillor Griffiths said: “This is a much needed improvement which should make the village safer for all.”
Councillor Mullins said: “I welcome this new sign and I hope it makes a real difference to road safety in Broughton.”
3/3/08
A Cwmbrân school is celebrating its fantastic achievement, having scooped the title of National Quiz Champions in a competition organised to raise awareness of the issues that affect young peoples' daily lives.
Part of the Schools Liaison Police Core Programme - which sees police officers visit schools to deliver key parts of the PSE curriculum - the annual competition, was held at the Copthorne Hotel in Cardiff. Having succeeded at their regional heats, 4 teams from across the whole of Wales competed for the title.
In a close contest, fought out over six rounds, pupils from Fairwater High School clinched the top prize with a score of 50, beating closest rivals, Cyfartha High by 3 points.
The competition was hosted by Swansea Sound's Kevin Johns, with ITV 1 newsreader, Jonathan Hill, on hand to present prizes.
Speaking about the event Jonathan said:
"It's been a fantastic evening and I'm delighted to have been invited. Young people receive a lot of bad press, but it's heartening to see the interest these young people have in their communities - if they're our future then we're in very safe hands."
All Wales School Liaison Core Programme Co-ordinator, Linda Roberts added:
"The success of this event is based on effective partnership working. I would like to thank our sponsors, G4s Airwave Solutions and the arson reduction team at the Welsh Assembly Government. I'd also like to thank our partners who've contributed time and effort to make this evening a success, specifically CLIC, Crimestoppers, Road Safety Wales, The Mid and West Fire Service and the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service."
29/2/08
Johnstown pupils are celebrating after helping to win Lottery funds for a new cycleway and footpath.
They used penny-farthings in their Connect2 campaign to illustrate how long they have been fighting for a decent cycle bypass of the town. It will bridge rail, road and river obstacles in Carmarthen creating a safe cycling and walking route across the town to Johnstown.
Though texts and networking family and friends, hundreds of pupils helped generate thousands of votes to secure the Living Landmarks –The People’s Millions result.
They share a pot of £50million for the Carmarthen project – one of 37 nationwide.
The cycleway will help connect the main railway station with a safe cycle route across the Towy from the Carmarthen railway station to the Quay and on to Johnstown schools and leisure centre.
County chief executive Mark James said: “I want to say a big thank you to all those who responded to the appeal to vote including school pupils, council employees and the general public.”
20/2/08
The CSI Cymru Road Safety Initiative in Gwynedd is a product developed in partnership between Gwynedd Council, North Wales Police, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The initiative includes an exhibition of a crashed vehicle with dummy casualties.
Geared towards pupils aged 15/16 years, a tour of Year 11 of all Secondary Schools within Gwynedd is underway at present.
It has been developed in order to make the pupils aware of the responsibility and the respect required in being a road user, especially a motor vehicle driver or passenger. It has been designed to change attitudes and behaviour prior to them becoming drivers. The pupils are 12 months away from being provisional driving licence holders and it is hoped that delivering the initiative at this time will encourage the young people to be responsible when driving, not only for themselves, but the passengers they are carrying and other road users sharing the road space.
The initiative came about due to the high percentage of young road users being killed and seriously injured on Welsh Roads.
During 2006, 617 drivers aged 18 were involved in collisions, they accounted for almost two-fifths (39%) of all drivers aged under 20 who were involved in crashes. Within these collisions 389 (14%) were male young drivers and the collisions were either fatal or serious. Young female drivers within the same period were involved in 117 (9%) of fatal or serious crashes.
During this period Gwynedd’s Collision statistics for drivers under the age of 25 were as follows: 6 Fatal, 20 Serious and 128 Slight Casualties.
See CSI Cymru dates for Gwynedd
18/2/08
Combating the number of accidents on roads in Neath Port Talbot is bringing rewards. Over the last five years, the council has set aside £300,000 every year for schemes to cut down the number of personal injury accidents on local roads.
The programme targeted roads with a history of five or more personal injury accidents over a five year period. These were then analysed to find out if issues such as speed or visibility were contributory factors. Statistics for the first three years of the scheme have shown excellent results with a drop of up to two thirds in accident rates in some areas.
The schemes include a variety of measures for cutting accidents such as speed cushions or plateau, road markings, signs and chicanes.
At Old Road in Briton Ferry, before the scheme started there were six personal injury accidents in three years. In the following three years there were two.
Similarly, at Penywern in Neath, accidents dropped from six to two while at New Road in Skewen, they fell from fifteen to eight.
The programme means safer roads in Neath Port Talbot bringing huge benefits for local residents.
Cabinet Member for Highways, Arwyn Woolcock, said, "This is an extremely successful scheme. The measures we have introduced are reducing accidents and making our roads safer for everyone. A relatively small amount of expenditure is bringing considerable financial benefits, not only for the council but for other organisations who deal with the aftermath of road accidents."
15/1/08
This project is an initiative developed in partnership with, and funded by Rhondda Cynon Taf Road Safety Department and the Welsh Assembly Government. It is also generously sponsored by Hutchings HQ, Pontypridd.
Written by Mark Ryan and performed by Spectacle Theatre, 'Gwenno's Grampo' features live music and song, and will be touring to every Infant, Primary and Junior school throughout RCT in both English and Welsh. Tour Dates 14 January - 9 May 2008.
www.spectacletheatre.co.uk
30/11/07
The City & County of Swansea Road Safety Team, based at the County Hall, Swansea, braved the wintry conditions at “The Swansea Christmas Parade” on Sunday 18th November 2007.
This year’s Road Safety theme was “Be Safe, Be Seen”, to highlight the dangers of not being seen on the roads, especially this time of the year!
The ladies of the team donned fluorescent wigs and tutu’s and handed out thousands of mini Rocky torches. The men wore Christmas hats, high viz vests and gloves and carried a reflective “Be Safe, Be Seen” banner. However as usual the star of the team was “Rocky the Road Safety Rooster”, who hitched a lift on the vintage fire engine.
Even with the very harsh wintry conditions on the evening, thousands of people attended and enjoyed the festive occasion. Hopefully taking home the Road Safety message with them!
28/11/07
Carmarthenshire schoolchildren have been learning about road safety - and raising money for charity at the same time.
Pupils from across the county have raised thousands of pounds for Children In Need. Road safety quizzes and sponsored events have raised a huge £9,515 in recent weeks. And more money is still being sent in to road safety officers at Carmarthenshire County Council.
The county’s road safety mascot Gari Gosafe teamed up with the BBC’s Pudsey Bear for the council campaign.
Primary schools across Carmarthenshire took part in fundraising activities with a road safety message. The cash was collected during a whistle-stop tour of 62 primary schools during Road Safety Week. Road Safety Manager Keith Griffiths said: “We are constantly looking at new ways of educating children about road safety issues and we were absolutely delighted by the response from schools. We never expected to raise so much money and we are hoping to top £10,000. It has been a very valuable exercise in terms of educating children and raising money for charity at the same time.”
Gari Gosafe is the face of the council’s road safety education programme. The seven foot dragon is used by officers to raise awareness among schoolchildren and reduce the number of road injuries.The council’s Transport Executive Board Member Cllr Pam Palmer said: “It is vital to educate children about road safety from an early age. A huge amount of work is underway in Carmarthenshire and this campaign was a fantastic way to engage with young people. I congratulate everyone involved for their efforts.”
9/11/07
Road Safety Week in Wales was launched on 6 November at Gabalfa Primary School, Llandaff North, Cardiff. The theme of this year's event is the safety of children on foot and bicycles.
The launch was attended by Rachel Jones who was left fighting for her life after she was knocked down near her grandmother's house in February 2004. As she crossed a 60mph road in Aberdare with her friends, she was hit by a car. She suffered a stroke, swelling of the brain, a broken shoulder and a crushed ankle. Rachel is now in a wheelchair and has problems speaking. The unlicensed driver, who had been drinking and taking drugs, was found to be driving at 98mph. He drove off after hitting Rachel. He admitted dangerous driving, causing grievous bodily harm, failing to stop after a crash and driving unlicensed and uninsured. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
Rachel Jones' mum Sheri Ozdemir says: "We were lucky that Rachel survived, but the events of that day will stay with us forever. The life Rachel should have had has been snatched from her because the injuries she sustained were life-long and life-changing. For the sake of other children, I am supporting Road Safety Week and asking drivers in Wales to always slow down to 20mph or lower near schools and homes. Please make our communities a safer place for children."
For further information visit the Brake website
25/10/07
Merthyr Tydfil Road Safety Team is pleased to announce the launch of their own road safety mascot!
Having been launched at the County Borough's annual August Bank Holiday show at Cyfarthfa Park, Tydfil the Tortoise greeted over 450 child visitors with miniature soft toy tortoises and the road safety message STOP LOOK LISTEN THINK.
Tydfil's first school appearance at Gellifaelog Primary School in early October, again armed with miniature tortoises was met with great enthusiasm and on return visits to the school Tydfil and his message have been well remembered. Tydfil will be visiting schools throughout the County Borough as well as attending fetes, the County show and road safety events.
16/10/07
The City and County of Swansea's Junior Road Safety Officers Club has now been running for 7 years. At present, over 40 primary schools in the Swansea area are members of the scheme, with more schools 
wishing to join for 2007/8.
There is a new look to Swansea JRSO Club, with the launch of a "cool" street wise uniform. The JRSOs will be given a baseball cap, satchel and t-shirt. All the uniform will be branded with JRSO in the style of the New York Police Department (N.Y.P.D)
Full Story>>
5/10/07
Carys Ofalus (Careful Carys) has been visiting schools throughout Gwynedd for some time raising awareness about the dangers of the road.
Now there is a CDRom, CD and website telling Carys’ story as she teaches children how to use the road carefully.
Visit the Carys Ofalus Website
6/8/07
Cardiff Council’s Road Safety Unit has taken delivery of a new ‘state-of-the-art’ 7.5 tonne mobile exhibition vehicle - the first of its type in Wales.
The vehicle is air-conditioned and has facilities for disabled people, and its distinctive exterior livery depicts local landmarks in Cardiff. Resources include a driver simulator, three ‘touch screen’ computers, and a DVD/video-linked to a 42-inch plasma screen and surround sound speakers.
The flooring of the vehicle has been designed to simulate a road with pavements, allowing practical pedestrian safety demonstrations to be undertaken using model pedestrian crossing facilities. For further information contact Dave Evans or John Goff on 02920 619907, or JGoff@cardiff.gov.uk
11/7/07
Ysgol y Wern, who recently became Cardiff School's Road Safety Quiz champions are now South Wales Primary School Road Safety Quiz champions.
The final was held at the Thunder Road Motorcycle dealership in Bridgend on Tuesday 19th June and they beat six other schools who represented local authorities across South Wales. The annual competition is co-ordinated by South Wales Police and sponsored by Lion Laboratories.
26/6/07
Proposals for an Assembly Government Measure on school transport are being 
published today (June 26) for consultation. The proposed Measure will strengthen protocols for good behaviour and proper discipline on school buses - and provide free transport for more primary school children.
Introducing the proposals for a Learner Travel (Wales) Measure, Economy and Transport Minister Dr.Brian Gibbons said: School buses are the safest means of getting to school. Thousands of children travel on them every day and fortunately incidents are few. Problems are the exception but when they occur, the consequences can be severe: sometimes, sadly, fatal.
Good behaviour on school buses is essential and behaviour and safety are intrinsically linked.
There have been concerns raised about the behaviour of a minority of pupils on school buses. Parents and children understandably want effective, fair and trustworthy transport arrangements. Many local authorities have introduced codes of conduct already - but there are doubts about whether effective sanctions can be enforced under existing legislation.
Also, the proportion of children travelling by bus has fallen over the last decade. Half of Welsh primary school children now travel to school by car - with a quarter of rush hour traffic in urban areas generated by the 'school run'.
The proposals in this draft Measure will not only help create a safer travel environment but will also contribute to a sustainable transport system. www.wales.gov.uk
18/5/07
The inaugural Road Safety Wales Conference will be held at the
Celtic Royal Hotel, Caernarfon on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 September 2007. View the programme and booking form
Road Safety Awards
The annual Road Safety Wales Awards, supported by Chevron Texaco, will be announced during the Monday night Conference Dinner. View the award details and nomination form
15/5/07
The UK Rescue Organsation/Chief Fire Officers Association conference is an annual provision open to the thousands of it's stakeholders. It provides a launching platform for some of the worlds leading Road Safety and Emergency Service specialists to distribute their current thinking and sector specific knowledge.
You should attend if:
- You want to be updated on the governments current position in relation to Road Safety Strategy
- You want to know where road safety strategy is heading from a European dimension
- You want to debate ways to improve an inclusive partnership approach to road safety
- You want to understand the role Fire and Rescue Services can play in contributing to road safety
- You want to know what approaches to modifying behaviour are effective
- You want to know what impact Regional Control Centre’s may have on the outcomes of road traffic collisions
- You want to consider the validity of the golden hour as a guide to emergency service intervention
- You want to gain an understanding of the longer term impact of rehabilitation
- You would like an opportunity to network and debate the issues surrounding road safety with a wider stakeholder audience
View the Conference Programme
30/4/07
Andrew Davies, Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, has set out details of a new £10 million programme to improve road safety and encourage walking and cycling within communities.
Launching the new programme, Andrew Davies said, "The new Safe Routes in Communities programme builds on our highly successful Safe Routes to School scheme. This £10m programme will give more children the opportunity to walk or cycle safely to school, and will improve accessibility and encourage walking and cycling more generally within our communities.'
'Under the new programme, I will be making additional funding available to local authorities to develop Safe Routes in Communities schemes. Whilst most of these schemes will continue to be focused on schools, given their location at the heart of our communities, I also want to encourage the development of safe routes for walking and cycling with links to leisure centres, parks, hospitals or care centres for the elderly. I am particularly keen to support innovative schemes that focus strongly on securing road safety improvements, including schemes which link the development of safe routes to 20mph zones.'
1/12/06
Ten Comprehensive Schools from throughout Gwent competed in the final of the Gwent Music Challenge on 21 November at Abertillery Community Theatre.
Each school put together a band and composed songs with an Anti Drink Drive theme. Helen Davidson, Road Safety Project Manager at Capita Symonds visited the schools on a regular basis to keep track of progress. "The pupils were excited, motivated and dedicated to the cause! This all came together in the final performance.” The winners of the Music Challenge were Safety Queen from Tredegar Comprehensive School. Here you can view the top three acts.
