Life Saving Children Stickers Aim To Increase Achill Road Safety

Date: 04-06-2021

A new road safety campaign involving wheelie bins and life-sized child stickers seeks to make Mayo roads safer as we head into a busy weekend.

The Road Safety Office of Mayo County Council has launched the unusual community-based campaign to save young lives. 

Residents of Keel Village ini Co. Mayo have put a sticker featuring a life-size image of a child on their household bins ("wheelie bins") as a visual reminder to drivers that children might step into the street at any time while they're playing and distracted.

"When we look at road safety generally, we look at figures and numbers,".

"But what we often overlook is the human face behind that.

"The stickers put the human element to the potential situations we can find on the roads we travel each day.

"It's the streets/roads around our local areas which we are the most familiar with and often the most complacent with."

 "We believe these stickers have the potential to have a real impact on our roads," said Noel Gibbons road safety Officer Mayo County Council.

"The 'Life Saving' sticker campaign builds on this education process by providing a real-time reminder to motorists to reduce their speed."

"It is hoped drivers have an emotional reaction to the stickers, and think of the reality of a child running out onto the road, this campaign was first run in Australia with very positive feedback.

Michael Keane a resident in the Village said “I have witnessed too many close calls with children within the village as cars drive through at inappropriate speeds and we welcome any campaign that will make our village safer. We want our children to be able to walk or cycle to the beach safely”