600 tots join Beep Beep Day in County Meath

It may be 40 years since Brendan Grace recorded the 'Safe Cross Code’ ad for RTE but the importance of teaching children the basic lessons for crossing the road is as relevant now as it was in 1970. Last week, more than 600 pre-school children took part in 'Beep Beep Day’ across County Meath, which was an initiative by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) in promoting pedestrian safety among young children. The children participated in various activities, including walking buses, story readings, practice walks, visits from the Gardai and lollypop persons. The largest of these events took place at Navan Racecourse where over 100 pre-school children from 12 childcare services practised crossing the road safely with assistance from Cllr Shane Cassells, Meath Road Safety Officer Michael Finnegan and the team members of Meath County Childcare Committee, who organised the event. There was an enthusiastic hum as the children sang the road safety songs lead out by Meath County Childcare’s Catherine Coogan, while waiting for the lights to turn green to cross the road safely. The campaign for the under-fives was introduced by the RSA earlier this year and is being rolled out in the county by Meath County Childcare Committee. The programme is called 'Simon and Friends’ and is an innovative road safety programme for children under five years. The resource includes illustrated storybooks, a CD with songs and the stories with an accompanying guide for teachers. The resource is free for childcare services and available from Meath County Childcare Committee.