Pupils give speeders a lesson
PUPILS at Asmall Primary School in Ormskirk have been alerting drivers to the dangers of speeding this week by conducting a School Road Watch patrol on nearby Cottage Lane.
Sgt Craig Appleton and the Ormskirk neighbourhood policing team joined Viv Clayton from Lancashire County Council’s Safer and Active Travel Team, volunteers from the Community Road Watch Scheme and local councillors Adam Yates and Nikki Hennessy to help the children from Years 5 and 6 question drivers over their speed.
Pupils worked with uniformed police officers to monitor and record the speed of vehicles.
Drivers who were caught exceeding the speed limit were stopped by a police officer, handed a warning notice, and then offered the chance to speak to the pupils.
The children told the drivers that they were seven times more likely to kill a child if they hit them at 30mph than 20mph, before asking them a series of questions, including “Do you know the speed limit on this road?”, “Why were you driving faster than the speed limit?” and “What could you do in future to make sure you keep to the speed limits?”
The event was a big success, with over a dozen drivers stopped for speeding, helping to raise awareness of the 20mph limit around the school.
Head teacher Michelle Speak said: “We would like to thank everyone involved for helping to give the children such a great opportunity to learn about speed awareness and to promote it within our local community.
“The children got so much out of the day, from being able to question the police about their work to speaking to the drivers about why they were speeding.
“This is part of a programme of activities we have planned, which will also include making posters to put up on our roads and we’re hoping to hold another patrol later in the year.”
County Councillor Nikki Hennessy added: “It was fantastic to see the children taking part in this community activity and I’m so proud of how well they conducted themselves when talking to the drivers who were pulled over.
“They were so professional and polite and it had a real impact on the drivers.”