Firefighters' road safety lessons

Firefighters are to join police in delivering road safety lessons to children in Northern Ireland schools, it has been announced.

It is the first time the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has been involved in the road safety campaign in schools and their involvement follows the signing of a new memorandum of understanding between the Department of enviroment, PSNI and NIFRS.
Minister Edwin Poots, who has the responsibility for advice in school has invited the two emergency services to share their experiences with schoolchildren.
Mr Poots said: "This new co-ordinated approach to the delivery of road safety education within schools will make best use of our resources and expertise in our collective fight towards a continued reduction in child road traffic casualties."
The minister said it was vital that children were aware of the dangers when using the roads and know what actions to take to avoid being injured.
"Teaching safety skills to children can provide lifelong benefits to society and should be seen as an ongoing long-term intervention.
"Evidence shows that children remember effective and sustainable development of positive attitudes to road safety by linking it on a regular basis to issues being covered within the core curriculum.
"It is for this reason that DoE Road Safety, PSNI and NIFRS engages with the teaching profession."
Child deaths have been steadily dropping since the mid-seventies. There were 55 children killed on the roads in 1977, last year it was just seven. So far this year the total is three.