(with pic)
In response to the number of road traffic accidents and fatalities in the county, St. Eugene's College, Roslea, has launched a major road safety initiative in conjunction with the Department of Environment's Road Safety Officer.
Pamela McCombe, Road Safety Education Officer with the Department of the Environment, visited the school and set up workshops with both the Year 8 and Year 11 pupils.
The school Principal, Dr. Martin Knox explained that the school's the Board of Governors were keen to promote safety measures for the benefit of the pupils, given the high accident rates in the area.
"The initiative is designed to make pupils aware of the potential for accidents when dismounting buses in the dark Winter evenings when they might not be as visible to vehicle drivers", he said.
Dr. Knox expressed thanks to Mrs. McCombe for her experience in the area and for providing high visibility bands for the children to wear over their school uniforms.
"It may take a little while to embed the culture of wearing the bands", Dr Knox added, "but we will be encouraging the pupils to make use of them during the Winter months. Through time, the pupils will automatically reach for their bands as a safety measure,".
