School pupils put road safety first

Pupils from two Munster schools scooped the top awards in a national competition that encourages children to develop vital road safety skills.

Students in first class at Glór na Mara National School in Tramore, Co Waterford, won first prize in the Road Safety Authority’s Seatbelt Sheriff competition for their poster — Buckle ’Em Up Around The World Sheriffs.

The top prize in the RSA’s Hi Glo Silver competition was won by students from second class in Clooney National School, Carrahan, Tulla, Co Clare, for their poster — Hi Glo, Hi Glo, It’s Off to School We Go.

Alan Kelly, the minister of state at the department of transport, RSA chief executive Noel Brett, and Garda Inspector Barry Moore attended the awards’ presentation in Croke Park yesterday.

Each of the winning groups received a €2,000 cheque for their school.

Runners-up in the Seatbelt Sheriff competition were Kayla Daley, Conor Horan, and Fionn O’Sullivan from Balllyhea National School, Charleville, Co Cork; first class in Scoil Mocheallog, Kilmallock, Co Limerick; Samantha Luka, Scoil Mhuire, Tullow, Co Carlow: Aoibheann Mangan, Cloghan Hill National School, Tuam, Co Galway; and first class, Clocharince National School Moyvalley, Co Kildare.

Runners-up in the Hi Glo Silver competition were Elle O’Mahony, Scoil Mhuire, Mellick, Co Clare; Shauna McLaughlin, Scoil Iosagain, Buncrana, Co Donegal; second class in Ardfert National School, Ardfert, Tralee, Co Kerry; and Aoibheann Dalton, Paddock National School, Mountrath, Co Laois.

Students from more than 55,000 classes around the country have taken part in the annual competition since it was first launched in 2004.

Both Seatbelt Sheriff and Hi Glo Silver are educational road safety programmes for children in first and second class.

Children in first class become seatbelt sheriffs by pledging to wear their seatbelts when travelling and making sure that everyone else in the car is buckled up too.

Hi Glo Silver encourages second-class students and former seatbelt sheriffs to wear bright high-visibility clothing when out walking.

Mr Brett said he hoped the lessons learned by the children would stay with them into adulthood.

Insp Moore said competitions like the RSA’s kept everybody safer on the roads and contributed to the progress made in making Irish roads the safest in the world.