Schools Urged To Run A Bright Day For Brake Helping Children Stay Safe As The Clocks Go Back

Schools are being encouraged to run a ‘Bright Day’ this autumn by the charity Brake and partner Autoglass®, to help children stay safe on roads. Bright Days are an opportunity to educate pupils about the need to ‘be bright, be seen’ on dark evenings, while raising funds for charity. Schools can also use Bright Days to raise awareness among local drivers about looking out for children on foot and bicycle, particularly as the evenings get darker.

Bright Days are dress-down days where everyone wears bright, reflective and day-glow clothes to school and makes a donation to Brake, supporting the charity’s work making roads safer and caring for families whose lives are devastated by a road death or serious injury.

Schools are encouraged to sign up now to run a Bright Day to coincide with the clocks going back (30 Oct), or in Road Safety Week, 21-27 November, coordinated by Brake. Schools who take part get a free resource pack to help them raise awareness and fundraise.

Bright Days help raise awareness of the 118 people hurt or killed on foot or bikes every day on British roads[1], reminding drivers to slow down and watch out for vulnerable road users. They are also a crucial fundraiser for Brake – the project has raised over £4,500 so far during 2011.

As the clocks go back later this month, as well as raising awareness through Bright Days, Brake will be speaking out in support of the Lighter Later campaign, which urges the government to put the clocks forward by an hour year-round. This would mean lighter evenings and more daylight hours during most people’s waking hours. It’s estimated this would prevent 450 deaths and serious injuries a year,[2] as well as delivering environmental, health and economic benefits.[3]

Autoglass® is the new national sponsor of Brake’s Bright Day initiative, and will be working with Brake to encourage schools, organisations and communities to take part and spread road safety awareness.

To order a free Bright Day resource pack contact Martin Howard on 01484 550064 or mhoward@brake.org.uk.

related

Primary Schools Tango With Tong
Children Show Their Artistic Skills
BAFTA Calls On 11-16 Year Olds To Enter Young Game Designers Competition
Half Of British Primary School Children Involved In Jubilee Kite Day
Construction Of New Brent Sen School Off To A Great Start
AET Uses Online Tutoring To Support Disadvantaged Children
Lynda Bellingham Launches The Generations@school Project
Tong High School Triumph At Rock Challenge
The School Security Report
New Campaign Calls For A-Level Overhaul

share this page

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive at Brake, says: “Running a Bright Day for Brake is a great way for schools to support our work while getting the message across to children and families about the need to ‘be bright, be seen’ when walking and cycling. It’s also a chance to raise wider awareness in your local community about the vital importance of drivers slowing down and looking out for children as the evenings get darker. Now is the ideal time for schools to sign up to run a Bright Day, to help children stay safe on roads, and to raise vital funds for our work campaigning for safer roads and caring for those bereaved and injured in crashes. Brake is grateful to Autoglass for sponsoring this initiative and working with us to raise awareness.”

Matthew Mycock, managing director of Autoglass®, says: “Every 30 seconds someone in the world is killed in a road crash and with UK road maintenance budgets being cut, it’s a crucial time to raise the public’s awareness of road safety issues. We will be working with Brake throughout the winter months to highlight the dangers that darker days and hazardous weather conditions pose to road users, and encourage pedestrians to ‘think brighter’.”

For any media queries contact Martin Howard on 01484 559909 or mhoward@brake.org.uk.

To find out more about Autoglass, contact Laura Spence at LEWIS PR on +44(0) 207 802 2626 or autoglass@lewispr.com.

Notes for editors:

Brake is an independent road safety charity. Brake exists to stop the five deaths and 65 serious injuries that happen on UK roads every day and to care for families bereaved and seriously injured in road crashes. Brake runs awareness-raising campaigns, community education programmes, events such as Road Safety Week (21-27 November 2011), and a Fleet Safety Forum scheme, providing advice to companies. Brake’s support division cares for road crash victims through a helpline and other services.

Autoglass® is the UK’s leading vehicle glass repair and replacement service, with 101 branches nationwide and 1,300 mobile service units. For details of your nearest centre call 0800 36 36 36 or visit www.Autoglass.co.uk.

[1] Reported road casualties 2010 main results, Department for Transport, 2011

[2] Single/ Double Summer Time: Position paper, (RoSPA, 2003, updated 2005)