27 May 2011
Brake, the road safety charity, PO Box 548, Huddersfield, HD1 2XZ
Tel: 01484 559909 Email:
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Zak the Zebra, mascot of national road safety charity Brake, is visiting Charleton in Kingsbridge to back a campaign to make roads safer for children and all local residents. Thanks to sponsorship from Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services, Zak will be showing his support to local head teacher Rachel Perkins and the community of Charleton, who have organised a protest on Friday 27th May urging drivers to slow down on the A379.
Parents and teachers of Charleton C of E Primary School live in fear that a child could be injured or killed in their community. The school is situated on the A379, a busy road carrying traffic through the village. The road has a 20mph limit – a life-saving limit if drivers stick to it – but parents and teachers are deeply concerned that many drivers break the limit, with the maximum speed of 47mph recently recorded. They want to persuade drivers of the importance of staying under the limit, while working with police to carry out speed checks to catch drivers who flout the law and endanger children.
Journalists, photographers and film crews are invited to attend the protest and photocall:
WHERE: Charleton C of E Primary School, West Charleton, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2AL
WHEN: 2.30 – 3.30pm, Friday 27th May
WHAT: head teacher Rachel Perkins will be available for comment. Brake’s Zak the Zebra mascot will be available for photos with Rachel, PCSO’s, school governors, children and local parents.
One of the best ways to protect children on roads is to lower the speed limit in towns and villages to 20mph – and persuade drivers to stick to it. Driving at 20mph or slower, a driver has a good chance of stopping in time if a child runs out three car lengths in front. Any faster than this, they would hit the child and have a significant chance of killing or maiming them. For the facts on 20mph limits, click here.
The campaign so far:
Parents and teachers of Charleton C of E Primary School have been campaigning since 2008, urging drivers to obey the 20mph speed limit near the school. The neighbourhood police team at Kingsbridge Police station has been approached several times by concerned community members about speeding along the A379 between Charleton and Torcross. Surveys have identified that tackling speeding is a local priority.
The neighbourhood policing team has delivered road safety lessons in the school and set up traffic department patrols and speed checks in the area. In May 2010 drivers caught exceeding the limit were given the choice of a ticket or answering questions from school children about why they were speeding. To get the message across, the children asked questions such as ‘how would you feel if you knocked me down?’
The neighbourhood policing team is now working with the Parish Council to set up the first Community Speed Watch in the area and is planning further speed checks with the school throughout 2011.
Concerned community members want local drivers to understand the vital importance of obeying the speed limit, before someone is seriously injured or killed.
Rachel Perkins, executive head teacher of Charleton Church of England Primary School says: “It is unbelievable the speed at which people drive past our school. It is a 20mph zone and recently the police recorded speeds of over 40mph through our small village. We are hoping our campaign will make the local community aware of the dangers of speeding. We need action now, before one of our children is hurt or killed.”
Julie Townsend, campaigns director at Brake, said: “As a charity that supports road crash victims, we know all too well the appalling suffering caused by the death or injury of a child. We must do more to prevent these tragedies, and to enable people to walk and cycle without fear. Nationally, Brake is calling for increased Government investment in road safety, but we are also supporting communities who want local action now.
“It is an outrage for children to be unable to walk in their own neighbourhood, and get to school, without their lives being endangered. 20mph limits are crucial in protecting children on foot, so it’s appalling that so many drivers in Kingsbridge are disregarding the law and putting children’s lives at risk. We’re appealing to drivers to slow down and stay under the limit – this simple step means you have a good chance of being able to stop in time if a child runs out in front of you, so it could save a life.”
“We’re also encouraging anyone concerned about children’s safety on roads to contact Zak the Zebra at www.zakthezebra.org and find out how Brake and Zak can help.”
195 children were killed on UK roads in 2009 and 4188 more suffered serious injuries. The majority of these children (58%) were on foot or bicycle at the time.[1] Brake works with communities to help prevent these needless casualties, and provides support to the families devastated by them.
If you’re concerned about a dangerous road, Zak the Zebra can help. Thanks to sponsorship from Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services, Brake’s Zak the Zebra costume can be borrowed for a limited number of community road safety campaigns. Tell Zak about your dangerous road or road safety campaign by completing our online form at www.zakthezebra.org, or calling Zak’s hotline on 08000 687780, kindly operated by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors (open 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-4pm Saturdays). You’ll get access to a free online Zak Pack full of advice on setting up a community campaign to improve road safety.
Steve Farmer, Managing Director at Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services, says: “We are proud to be working with Brake to support community campaigns for safer roads. These campaigns are so important – local people fighting to prevent needless deaths and serious injuries on our roads, which devastate too many lives. By supporting Brake’s Zak the Zebra campaign mascot we hope we can help people on the front line who are campaigning to make our roads safer for everyone.”
Go to www.brake.org.uk/take-action to find out more about Brake’s campaigns to improve community road safety.
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES AND TO ATTEND THE PROTEST, CONTACT EMILY MOXON ON 01484 550061 or 01484 559909 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Brake is an independent national road safety charity. Brake exists to stop the six deaths and 70 serious injuries that happen on UK roads every day and to care for families bereaved and seriously injured in road crashes. Brake produces educational road safety literature, runs community training programmes and runs events including Road Safety Week (21-27 November 2011). Brake’s Fleet Safety Forum provides up-to-date fleet safety resources to fleet managers and runs a year-round programme of events. Brake’s support division cares for road crash victims through a helpline and other services.
[1] Road Casualties Great Britain 2009, Department for Transport, 2010; and Reported Injury Road Traffic Collisions & Casualties, Police Service of Northern Ireland, 2010
