Teaching children to be safe around road works

Riccarton School pupils got a hands-on lesson about what it takes to be a ‘Road Safety Hero’.

Staff members from engineering consultant group Beca, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and Downer Group volunteered their time on Wednesday to visit the school as part of New Zealand Road Safety Week.

Road Safety Week finishes on Sunday and is run by the charity, Brake.

The week’s initiatives include running a range of fun activities aimed at helping children learn the importance of staying safe around road works.

Beca project manager Jodi Johnson said a lot of people work to make our roads safer.

“We are encouraging them to be road safety heroes and understand who the road safety heroes are out on that road, keeping them safe and looking after our communities.”

Riccarton School was one of 16 across New Zealand to get a visit from the road safety team.

Teacher Haley Forrester said with all the road works around Christchurch at the moment, the team’s visit was timely.

“We need our kids to know what they’re supposed to do when they’re around them – that they don’t just go and get really close to things because there will obviously be lots of hazards and things that aren’t safe.”

She said the pupils learnt a lot from their hands-on lessons and hopes it will make a positive impact on their lives.

– By Geoff Sloan, made with the support of NZ On Air