Police turn to ‘pop-up bairns’ to drive home road safety message

SPEEDING: New tactic in response to safety concerns especially around schools

Police in Fife have come up with another novel way to encourage safe and responsible driving in the kingdom.

Building on the success of ‘Pop-up Bob’, the replica police officer regularly seen around towns and villages across the region holding a speed gun, ‘Pop-up Bairns’ are the latest recruits to help keep children safe on the roads around schools.

Six cut-out child characters dressed in high-visibility uniforms will be deployed at Fife schools as part of Operation Paramount, the Fife-wide road safety initiative,

Each character is holding a school crossing lollipop with the key safety messages of ‘Watch your speed’, ‘Think before you park’, and ‘Don’t park on the zig zags’.

The new tactic is being employed in response to ongoing public concern over road safety issues, particularly around schools, and it is hoped the presence of the ‘Pop Up Bairns’ will cause drivers to

“The mini recruits are eye-catching and we hope they will promote discussion and encourage responsible driver behaviour where it is most needed. CHIEF INSPECTOR ADRIAN ANNANDALE

slow down and observe the rules of the road.

Chief Inspector Adrian Annandale, who coordinates Operation Paramount, said the matters covered by the Pop-up Bairns are regularly raised in police engagement with schools, parents and children themselves.

Launching the new initiative in St Andrews, he said: “I am delighted to launch this innovative idea in support of our ongoing partnership work to promote safe and responsible driving around our schools in Fife.

“The idea came from work done by Constable Susan Martin, who is a community ward officer stationed in St Andrews.

“The mini recruits are eye-catching and we hope they will promote discussion and encourage responsible driver behaviour where it is most needed.”

The first time they have been used in Scotland, the ‘Pop-up Bairns’ will be deployed at schools in St Andrews, before being rolled out across the rest of Fife.

The use of the ‘Pop-up Bairns’ follows the perceived success of the ‘Pop-up Bob’ – a life-size cutout of a police officer holding a speed gun and placed at roadsides to deter speeding.

Supporters of the move stressed that the glass fibre models were not designed to replace police resources but would serve as a visual reminder to motorists to ensure they drive in an appropriate manner.

csmith@thecourier.co.uk

Picture: Steven Brown. The project launched yesterday with police and P7 pupils from Canongate Primary School, from left: Jack Webster, Georgia Seago, Finlay Martin, Kayden Fettes, Liam Black and Juha Lee.