Primary School Children Swap Books For Speed Guns To Carry Out Road Safety Checks

Date: 21-05-2021

Pupils got the chance to swap their schoolbooks for speed guns today to carry out their own road safety checks on passing motorists.

Youngsters from Belcarra Primary School joined a Community Engagement Garda and Mayo County Council’s Road Safety Officer, so they had the chance to use a speed gun, learning how to record the speed of passing vehicles.

As part of the children learning about road safety, Castlebar Community Engagement Garda Olive Lafferty visited the school with Road Safety Officer Noel Gibbons, with a speed gun.

The pupils were shown the equipment while older pupils went out onto nearby roadsides and, under supervision, were given the opportunity to use the handheld laser speed device to deter speeding motorists.

It was a great opportunity for the children to engage with the Gardaí and for the students to appreciate why speed limits are in place and pass the message onto their parents and families. The children learnt more about the importance of staying safe on the roads and enjoyed using the speed gun.

Pictured: Pupils from Belcarra N.S with L-R: Garda Hugh McHugh (Mayo Roads Policing Unit), Garda Olive Lafferty (Community Policing Unit), Siobhan Higgins (Teacher) and Noel Gibbons (Road Safety Officer, Mayo County Council)