Ballina school revs up with road safety

[totalmotorcycle]

Ballina school revs up with road safety
Wednesday, January 3, 2006 - By; Anna-Marie Flynn - Western People - westernpeople.ie



With the inordinate amount of road deaths a sad reality on Irish roads, Anna-Marie Flynn reports on one school that is trying to turn the tide.

THE term boy-racer has become a buzz word in Irish society today. The name, originally applied to the racing motorcycle produced by Associated Motorcycles, has now taken on a life of its own.


The combination of young male drivers and customized cars makes for the marriage of boy and racer.


In St Muredach’s College, Ballina, both the Transition Year and Leaving Cert classes were eager to dispel the notion that all young drivers fall into this category and wanted to be furnished with a comprehensive road safety course.


When Volkswagen dealers Kevin Connolly Car Sales approached the school to suggest they undertake a special safety programme, staff and students jumped at the opportunity.


The educational venture was carried out by Kevin Connolly Car Sales in association with the Gardai and Mayo County Council in the school last week.


Speaking to the Western People, Neil Connolly of KCCS said that road safety is a priority in the county, particularly in the wake of the triple tragedy in Ballinrobe.


“We wanted to do something here in Ballina and chose St Muredach’s as we are all past-pupils of the school. There is so much talk of boy racers and road safety issues and it is important that the right education gets out there particularly in the case of students who are likely to be on the road soon.”


He admitted that there is little point in relaying the same facts and figures to young road users and said that this course creates a different approach.


“We wouldn’t do it if it was just a rehash of the same statistics but this programme is hard hitting stuff that can really make a difference. Hopefully it will be used as a template for other schools in the future.”


The day’s course took in 36 Transition Year students and 60 Leaving Certificate candidates. Eddie O’Boyle and Leo Golden of St Muredach’s College were both on hand to organize the students before the programme commenced.


As an initiative of the Connolly family in association with the VW dealership, Kevin Connolly, Neil Connolly and Colette Glancy from KCCS were all present on the day. Darell Callaghan, Area Sales and Marketing Manager with Volkswagen was also in attendance to represent the wider network of road users.


After some brief discussion, Garda Kevin O’Connor presented the students with some previously unseen material relating to road safety and the potential dangers faced by drivers. He was also armed with breathalysers and laser guns to fully demonstrate the issues discussed.


Mayo County Council Road Safety Officer Noel Gibbons was enlisted for the daylong event and provided students with his portfolio of facts and figures relating to road use and abuse.


The objective of the programme is to educate young drivers before they take to the roads, in a bid to make them fully aware of the serious issues surrounding driving.


Presented in an totally innovative style, the successful daylong course may now be the blueprint for other schools across the county and the country, to ensure a new generation of road users are educated in driving, and more importantly, driving safely.