Long-haul truck paid a visit to Valdštejn square. Schoolchildren from Jičín practised road safety

The Czech transportation and logistics services provider C.S.CARGO hosted, on Friday 27 May and with support from the Jičín local council, a road safety practice for elementary school pupils. The company brought a long-haul truck to Valdštejn square, to teach children about blind spots (dead angles) and safety around a truck in general. Police officers from the local police station in Jičín and professional firefighters from the Regional Fire Brigade in Hradec Králové were also in attendance. More than 150 children came to the event.

The event’s main theme was road safety for schoolchildren, which is highly relevant given the fact that the summer is just round the corner, which plays in the hand of children spending more time roaming outdoors. The traffic police from the Jičín police station instructed children about the right and safe way of crossing roads and let them inspect a mobile unit that goes out to road accidents. Professional firefighters from the Regional Fire Brigade in Hradec Králové came to the event with a special rescue tanker truck with special technology (to assist at road accident sites), and taught children about how they should behave in emergencies. The C.S.CARGO truck was where the children were told about blind spots – and they could also see them as they had been marked, for better understanding, with tape directly on the truck; they could also climb up to the cabin and listen to the driver’s talk. The goal was for children to understand how big is a long-haul truck and what the driver can and cannot see from the cabin.

“We wanted to organise a road safety event for children, and as our headquarters is in Jičín, we decided to ask the local council for support and invite local elementary schools. We showed the truck, which had all the blind spots marked out with tape – to show where pedestrians should be most careful around a truck. For better visualisation, we made a photograph with children standing in the blind spot areas. Of course, a lot is down to the model of the truck, as modern trucks have a minimum of blind spots and the driver can see more or less everywhere around the vehicle. This, however, cannot be said of older models. Moreover, the space directly in front and behind a truck is still very dangerous, especially for small children. Children should take particular care when crossing the path of a truck or walking around it,” explains Aziz Jahić, Marketing Director C.S.CARGO.

“Of course, we welcomed the chance to join a road safety event. Our prevention programmes reach out mainly to children, and especially before the summer holidays, when the road accident numbers are the highest,” adds Hana Klečalová, press officer for the Jičín Police.

According to police figures, the months June, July and August topped the accident statistics last year. In 2015, the number of fatalities on the road was the third lowest in the last three decades; however, there was still a year-on-year growth of 16%. There were more fatalities also the category of children aged 6-14.