Pupils test their road safety skills

They will be attending an event at Gipton Fire Station in Leeds where they will be taking part in road safety lessons and try out a device that tests their knowledge of car braking distances and reaction speeds.

The children will be asked to estimate where a vehicle travelling at 30mph would end up if the driver had to perform an emergency stop to try to avoid a pedestrian.

Leeds City Council road safety manager Becky Prosser said: “Children often have a limited understanding of thinking and stopping distances and their estimations are invariably far less than the real distance that a car needs to stop.

“This simulation gives them the opportunity to develop their awareness in both a visual and practical way.”

The council’s road safety team will be at four different fire stations across the city this summer to try to get the message home.

Safety Ranger events, co-ordinated by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, have now been running in Leeds for several years for year 5 and 6 pupils.