Vital road safety campaign ‘Stop means STOP’ is rolled out across the North West

Lancashire County Council's Road Safety team took the message directly to communities on Thursday, 17 September, with road safety sessions taking place at five schools across the county.

Following a successful launch at three schools earlier this year, the campaign is gaining momentum, with more schools across Lancashire taking part today. As well as this, the campaign was also launched across St Helens, Knowsley, the Wirral, Cheshire West, Chester, Warrington and promoted in Greater Manchester.

Lancashire County Council's Leader, Stephen Atkinson and cabinet member for Transport and Highways, Councillor Warren Goldsworthy attended School Crossing Patrol driver behaviour and road safety sessions outside schools in Langho, Leyland, Rossendale, Lancaster and Poulton.

Officers from the council's Road Safety and Civil Enforcement teams attended alongside Lancashire Police officers and School Crossing Patrol officers to engage with parents and guardians and passing motorists about road safety, parking and speed.

They were reminded of the law regarding drivers stopping for School Crossing Patrols and were given advice on being a safe and considerate driver, including keeping to safe speeds and responsible parking.

Councillor Warren Goldsworthy attended a safety session at St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School in Langho with Caroline Boden, headteacher, School Crossing Patrol officer Jade Martin-Foster and council road safety staff.

Jade revealed that she has had cars fail to stop even when she is in the middle of the road, and drive round her quickly, which she explained can be a very dangerous experience, not just for her but for the children she is assisting to cross.

Headteacher Caroline Boden said:

"The Stop Means Stop campaign is really important to make sure that we put children's safety first. We have around 240 children all arriving and leaving our school at the same time so we need drivers to be extra careful and considerate as we have so many lives at risk at that point. We have lots of prams, pushchairs and lots of young children who are just learning road safety and road sense so drivers need to really be considerate of that - Stop Means Stop!

 "The main thing is drivers stopping for the Stop sign. A minority of drivers don't stop and go around and that can be quite frightening and quite dangerous. Drivers must not park on the yellow zigzags as this doesn't allow for the correct stopping for the sign. Drivers must be more considerate and compassionate for other road users and our lollipop person too."

Cllr Warren Goldsworthy said:

"Most drivers stop and help to keep children safe but a small minority ignore patrols and put lives at risk. Keeping children safe is everyone's responsibility. If a School Crossing Patrol says stop, you must stop."

Leaflets sharing the 'Stop means STOP' message, containing vital road safety messages, were handed out at the schools, while large display signs shared safety information. As well as this, parents across the county were sent 'Stop means STOP' leaflets electronically from all primary schools in Lancashire.

Mark Graham, School Crossing Patrol Co-Ordinator said:

"Lancashire County Council are successfully working with the police to prosecute drivers who fail to stop for our crossing patrol staff. Following these prosecutions, we have seen drivers hit with fines of upto £1,000, three points on their licence and even one driver disqualified."