Traffic Officers spell out Motorway dangers

School children living around Rochdale and Oldham are getting special lessons from Highways Agency Traffic Officers - about the dangers of straying onto the motorway network.

The traffic officers from the Highways Agency's Milnrow outstation near Rochdale patrol the M62, M60 and the A627(M). And they are delivering a programme of talks to youngsters to let them know about the work of Traffic Officers and the dangers of playing around motorways or walking along the hardshoulder.

Children between the ages of ten and 11 in their last year at primary school and first year of secondary school are being targeted by the programme of presentations which is being run at around 30 schools in the two boroughs.

Highways Agency Traffic Officers have been introduced across England to respond to incidents and keep traffic on the move. Traffic Officers monitor the motorways from cameras in regional control centres like the North West Regional Control Centre off the M6 at Newton-le-Willows or by patrolling in high visibility four wheel drive cars. And they often spot pedestrians - including children - using the motorway network.

In the North West alone there are around a dozen daily sightings of pedestrians walking along the motorway and in one case last year Traffic Officers from Milnrow discovered a child walking her dog along the hardshoulder of the M60 near Ashton-under-Lyne.

The schools presentation has been devised by Traffic Officers Graham Wynne-Jones and Charles Smith and it talks about why motorways are different to other roads, who can use motorways and what the children's parents should do in the event of a breakdown.

After the safety talk Mr Wynne-Jones and Mr Smith talk about the work they do to help keep drivers on the move. Then the children then get the chance to inspect a real Highways Agency Traffic Officer 4wd car - complete with checkered livery, cones, warning lights and other specialist equipment.

Mr Wynne-Jones said: "Unfortunately, Highways Agency Traffic Officers are spotting pedestrians on our local motorways on virtually every shift so we were keen to get out and take the safety message to children in the area and by doing so spread that message to siblings and parents."

And Mr Smith said: "We have now visited some ten local primary schools, with another 25 or so in the pipeline. The feedback has been positive and as far as we are concerned up at Milnrow if this presentation saves one life then it will have been worth it."