Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions backs LET KIDS LIVE campaign for National Road Safety Week

14 November 2007

Left: Employees in Penrith visit the Road Safety Unit

Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions (BBUS) took part in National Road Safety Week between the 5th and 9th November; a national event aimed at raising awareness about the importance of slowing down behind the wheel in order to reduce deaths to children on the roads.

Working in conjunction with Road Safety Charity, Brake and MCM Insurance brokers, BBUS organised a range of educational road safety activities at Holy Trinity C of E Senior School in Calderdale, West Yorkshire to help teach the children about the potential dangers on the roads.

A child is hurt or killed while walking or cycling every 37 minutes on UK roads. As part of Road Safety Week 2007, schools, communities and companies have joined forces with Brake to call on drivers to LET KIDS LIVE by slowing down to 20mph or below around schools and homes.

BBUS has organised a 'walking bus', ensuring all children walk to school as a group accompanied by an adult, as well as special hi-vis jackets. This will feature throughout November with a view to making it a permanent arrangement.

Other activities included a banner displayed at the school stating "Let Kids Live. Slow down around school and homes" and a poster competition, to give the children the chance to win a Nintendo Wii by creating a design to encourage drivers to slow down.
 
Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions will also be taking a specially designed road safety unit to its regional contractors throughout November to provide road safety information to its employees. Brake's promotional posters are displayed throughout the bus and a presentation including Brake's hard-hitting 'Busy Enough to Kill?' DVD will be delivered.

Various promotional products displaying road safety messages will also be distributed to employees throughout the campaign, including ice scrapers, tyre depth gauges and brand new copies of the Highway Code.

Nicola Barrowclough, Insurance Project Assistant for BBUS, said: "We are proud to support Brake and Road Safety Week. The safety of children and families on roads is so important. We're encouraging our employees and all local drivers to make a commitment to slow down to 20mph or below around schools and homes - it can really make a difference to local communities in Yorkshire. We hope that by delivering education to local school children and our employees, and by distributing promotional roads safety products, we are able to make a difference and save lives."

For more information visit  www.roadsafetyweek.org