Continental improves safety on the way to school

Continental provides financial backing for projects designed to improve child safety on the way to school - projects ranging from special campaigns through to construction measures. In September, for example, a rally in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, was organised under the motto "Ride your bike ... but keep an eye out for safety", in which about 4,000 children and adults participated. Three training grounds have been built in Hanover where children can learn the rules of cycling safety. The "Experience makes the master" project helps young drivers in Bavaria to cope with hazard situations in road traffic. In Hoyerswerda (Saxony) an island was built in the ErichKästnerPrimary School zone to enable children to cross the road safely. Continental joins forces with local road patrol organizations for all projects.

"This initiative allows us to demonstrate our specific commitment towards promoting safety on our roads. At the same time, we can help with local implementation of appropriate safety projects, especially in these times of public fund shortages", says Continental spokesman Hannes Boekhoff. One of the main focuses of the initiative has been school bus hazards: "Here in Germany, almost one in three children travels to school by bus - and most of them don't even know the safety rules when crossing the road, the proper way to get on or off, or how to behave when riding the bus." This is where the statistics are extremely alarming: More than half of all school bus accidents happen inside the bus itself; concussions and bruises are common consequences. At Continental's request a team of scientists from LüneburgUniversityhas drawn up a set of guidelines on the subject of bus safety which is scheduled for distribution to schools and parents at the beginning of next year.

"The whole campaign has made a very successful start. A couple of months ago we distributed an information leaflet to schools, and the number of suggested projects rose again substantially", explained Cornelia Zieseniß, manager of the Lower Saxony road patrol organization. There is still a great need for projects to improve child safety on the way to school. Thanks to Continental's drive for more safety, a lot of good ideas put forward by parents, children and teachers could be put into effect.