Road safety education makes Linden comeback

Road safety practices have been a missing component from schools in Linden for a number of years but thanks to the coordinators of the National Road Safety Council, that void has been filled with a number of students being trained especially when it comes to the use of the pedestrian crossing.

Under the guidance of Lance Corporal Dwayne Ross of the Police E & F division in Linden, more than two dozen students from schools across Region 10 received theoretical and practical training in Road Safety practices last week. The exercise was part of national activities in observance of road safety month. Coordinator of the Linden arm of the committee Kevin Barron said that throughout the month and thereafter there will be on-going training for the students.

The children going through their drills

Last week the students participated in a special training seminar in the conference room of the Linden Business Centre/Linden Enterprise Network (LEN). Present were representatives from the national and regional bodies. Among those addressing the students and their teacher were Traffic Officer Ross and local businessman Garfield Hoyte. The primary focus was to educate students on the use of the stop signs and the pedestrian crossing.

The practical aspects of the programme were done along Republic Avenue in the centre of the Linden business circle. “These are the things l like seeing”, congratulated a passerby. “This is what I call progress since in me school days I ain’t see nothing like this in the community. Welcome back good practices well done, well done”, commented a taxi driver who like many others was very patient in allowing the children to get their practice.

The Road Safety Council furnished the students with a quantity of reflector vests and stop signs making them eligible to participate in the national competition designed to promote the proper care and handling of the road safety equipment, the application of rules and assertiveness when carrying out road safety practices especially when controlling traffic to allow peers to cross the road.

The Linden arm of the council was recently established and has been very visible and active in the Linden community. In addition to the commencement of repainting of pedestrian crossings in Linden they have been engaging a number of schools and other groupings promoting the safe use of the road.