Traffic club for tots improves road safety

Toddlers from Hollandbush Nursery were on hand recently to highlight the benefits of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland.

Set up in 1995 to reduce the large number of children injured on or near Scotland's roads, the Traffic Club helps parents teach their young children road safety in a fun and structured way.

Membership is free to all three year olds resident in Scotland and is funded from the Scottish Executive. Every parent or carer of eligible children is automatically sent an invitation around the child's third birthday, with invitations issued once from the Health Board. 

Members receive a book full of information, games and stories at three monthly intervals. These books also provide information and advice for parents and carers to help them effectively teach road safety to their young children. Additional material is available through nurseries and playgroups to reinforce the road safety teaching that the children receive at home.

Chair of South Lanarkshire Council's Roads Safety Forum, Councillor John Murray, said: "As far as I am concerned, you are never too young to learn about road safety.

"Children who join the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland will be learning skills and safety techniques that will be with them for the rest of their lives.

"The fact that they learn about road safety in such an entertaining way also means they are far more likely to remember what they have been taught."

For more information go to: www.trafficclub.co.uk or contact the Road Safety Section on 01698 453620.