Mixed reaction to child road sticker
2 readers have commented on this story
A sticker applied to the surface of a road that gives the impression a child is standing in the middle of the street is being used in Canada to highlight the danger posed by traffic around schools (ETA website).
Preventable, a Canadian organisation which raises awareness about preventable injuries, launched the pilot project to raise drivers’ awareness during the first week of the new school term.
The sticker was installed following consultation and a risk assessment involving the local council, parents, the school board, engineers, and police.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) in the UK said: “This project is a highly imaginative way of highlighting the need for slower speeds and extra vigilance on the streets where children live, go to school and play.”
The initiative has drawn a mixed reaction in comments placed on the Preventable website - some supporting it, others raising concerns about safety.
Preventable has responded by claiming that the image does not ‘jump out’ at drivers and there is no ‘startling effect’. It also says that on site monitoring of motorists’ behaviour shows no evidence of abrupt stopping or swerving.
Click here for more information.
Comments:
Insanity! Some will slow down in amazement. Some will swerve in surprise. Some will drive into a real child thinking it's just a sticker in the road. In all cases the end result is not safe. Do you walk around the cracks in the pavement - or ignore them?
Derek Reynolds, St Albans
Can you imagine when drivers see the image enough times to mentally "switch off" that a child wearing a blue and white stripey jumper actually runs in to the road one day!!
Joe - Sefton
