Primary school children help tackle speeding drivers

Northumbria Police has been recruiting school children to help tackle motorists speeding outside of schools.
Clocking the speeding motorists with speed guns.Clocking the speeding motorists with speed guns.
Clocking the speeding motorists with speed guns.

The force has piloted a new campaign working closely with schools in South Tyneside to deliver engaging workshops to children which highlight the dangers of speeding.

These workshops have so far taken place in Hedworthfield Primary School in Jarrow and Boldon’s Hedworth Lane Primary School.

Hedworthfield Primary School pupils take part in the speed awareness event.Hedworthfield Primary School pupils take part in the speed awareness event.
Hedworthfield Primary School pupils take part in the speed awareness event.
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They have proved so successful there are plans to roll the scheme out across the wider Northumbria region.

The sessions involved taking groups of children out onto the roadside to help educate drivers who are speeding outside of the schools.

PC Luiz Scheidt and Paul Talbut have been part of the team delivering this workshop to local schools, and feel the campaign has already had a very positive impact on both the motorists, and children involved.

PC Talbut said: “Excessive and inappropriate speed kills. The dangerous or careless actions of just one motorist can have devastating effects on the lives of others, and it’s important we continue to work to reduce the number of motorists speeding on our roads.

Hedworth Lane Primary School pupils taking part in the project.Hedworth Lane Primary School pupils taking part in the project.
Hedworth Lane Primary School pupils taking part in the project.
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“This campaign is not only about educating motorists of the risks and dangers of speeding, but teaching the next generation of motorists as well.

“It’s vital to educate children of road safety so that when the time comes for them to get behind the wheel they are fully informed of the dangers of speeding, and can make the responsible choice to keep to the speed limit.”

Anna Robinson, a family support worker at Hedworthfield, said: “It was a really good event and the children enjoyed it, but also learned a lot about speed awareness.

“We went to the main road near us and were stopping drivers. Everyone thought the road had a 30mph limit, but actually it is 20mph, so people do tend to speed along there.

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“The children said they would be telling their families about the speed limits.”

Ms Robinson said she though the whole project was very beneficial and the childrn are now putting together a presentation on what they learned so they can share it in assembly with the whole school.

Hedworth Lane Primary School headteacher, Tony Gill, has also been very supportive of the initiative, being one of the first schools to get involved in the pilot scheme.

He said: “The whole idea is not to stop and punish, but to stop and educate, a value which we work hard to achieve within our school.”