A NEW INITIATIVE will aim to bring home the danger of knocking down a child with an innovative campaign.
Taking its cue from a programme that has been successful in Australia, Mayo Council Council will be piloting a scheme that sees residents of one estate put life-size pictures of children on their wheelie bins.
“We believe these stickers have the potential to have a real impact on our roads,” said Noel Gibbons, the road safety officer for Mayo County Council.
It is hoped that drivers have an emotional reaction to the stickers, and think of the reality of a child running out onto the road.
More than a third of all child deaths in Ireland are due to road traffic collisions, making it the leading cause of child mortality.
The test programme will be introduced in An Lantán Estate in Ballinrobe in Co Mayo.
Speaking about the move, local resident Colm Ó Conghaile said: “I have witnessed too many close calls with children within the estate as cars drive through at inappropriate speeds and we welcome any campaign that will make our streets safer.”
The stickers were released in Australia earlier this year, with the head of the Australian Road Safety Federation Russell White saying it would have a “real impact on our roads”.
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