Walking School Bus Aims To Break World Record

Going to school and then going home is one of the primary areas of concern when it comes to school safety. Whether children go to school by bus, by bike, or on foot, road safety is one of the most important things to consider. Last week, hundreds of thousands of students took part in a safety march in an attempt to break a world record. This was done in the Peterborough in the United Kingdom. School children in primary school joined forces – more than 100,000 strong of them – last week and created a one-of-a-kind school bus, which they call a walking school bus.

Peterborough Today reports on the event:

Road safety charity Brake organised the event, which was aimed at creating a world record for the most amount of children simultaneously walking to school in walking buses – a safe, fun and healthy way to walk to school with an adult “driver” at the front and “conductor” at the rear.

The current record stands at 57,476, but early estimates suggest that yesterday’s attempt has been successful, with in the region of 140,000 pupils taking part in the walk.

As impressive as this might sound – it’s a record breaking attempt after all – the event is not just about getting into the Guinness World Book of Records. As a matter of fact, the primary aim of the event is to spread and raise awareness about school safety. One issue revolves around the speed limits around the school zones. Many believe that the current speed limits are simply too high, and that they pose a danger to the children. The participants and organizers believe that in carrying out this event, they might make motorists more aware of the need to slow down within school zones.

The piece that I read did not say anything about teaching the children how to keep themselves safe on the road, but I really that that was part of the agenda. After all, it is not every day that they can walk to school en masse. On ordinary days, if the children walk or bike to school, they still have to know how to follow road signs and keep themselves safe. It would have been very productive to have taken that chance to show the children firsthand how they can practice road safety measures.

Another thought – I wonder if there has been a similar effort here in the US? It would be great to do it as well, wouldn’t it?

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