Wednesday 23rd June 2010
Pupils from two West Dunbartonshire primary schools took part in a nationwide fun and educational march for road safety last week, and attempted to break a world record in the process!
Pupils from Dalreoch Primary in Dumbarton and Renton Primary in Renton got on their feet for the Brake Giant Walking Bus on 16 June. The event was organised by road safety charity Brake, which works to help raise awareness of road safety issues, to stop road casualties and support people bereaved by road crashes.
At 10am on 16 June, thousands of other pupils from schools across the UK also took part in simultaneous walking buses. The aim was to get more than 100,000 children involved nationwide, each marching a 500m route while displaying road safety placards created in their classrooms. If evidence is gathered that enough children took part across the UK, a Guinness World Record will be broken.
A walking bus is a formal or informal arrangement between parents and carers to walk a number of children to school regularly. Parents agree bus stops to collect children along the route and a timetable of when they will be at each stop. They usually work a rota system so that groups of children are safely escorted to school.
Councillor William Hendrie, West Dunbartonshire Council’s convener for Housing, Environmental Services and Economic Development said: “By taking part in the Giant Walking Bus, these two schools have played their part in educating children, parents and their communities about the dangers of speeding, and the health and environmental benefits of walking to school.”
