National Law Firm Irwin Mitchell And Child Brain Injury Trust Delivered Road Safety Talk At Fairfield School

Lawyers at Irwin Mitchell and Child Brain Injury Trust have shown their support for ‘Glow Day’, by delivering a talk at a West Yorkshire specialist school to help spread the important message road safety.

Alan Ball, a serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds office, and Carmel Gallagher, from Child Brain Injury Trust, spoke to children at Fairfield School in Batley to promote the importance of wearing bright or fluorescent clothing in the dark winter months when walking or cycling on or near roads.

Now in its fourth year, ‘Glow Day’ is an initiative set up by Child Brain Injury Trust to encourage road users and pedestrians to wear their brightest clothes as a reminder to be conscious of remaining visible as the nights grow longer, to reduce the risk of any accidents during winter.

Road traffic accidents are the biggest cause of death and disability among young children in the UK and also the main cause of acquired brain injuries amongst them too.

Commenting on the importance of ‘Glow Day’, Alan said:

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“At Irwin Mitchell, we see first-hand the devastating impact, long or short-term, the injuries sustained in road accidents can have. That is why we are proud to support Child Brain Injury Trust’s ‘Glow Day’ initiative.

“Seeing this impact is why we are passionate about getting the message about road safety out there to children to ensure they know how to keep themselves safe when walking or cycling in the winter.

“This is the fourth year we have supported ‘Glow Day,’ and last year we gave a similar presentation at Ireland Wood School. We hope the pupils at Fairfield School got as much out of our presentation as the pupils at Ireland Wood School got from it.” Alan Ball - Associate Solicitor

Carmel Gallagher, Yorkshire and Humberside Child and Family Support Co-Ordinator at Child Brain Injury Trust, said: “’Glow Day’ seems to be more successful each year, and we have had a great response from firms like Irwin Mitchell who have been helping to support this initiative in their local area and raise more awareness of road safety amongst young people.

“With the clocks having recently gone back, many children will now be travelling to or from school in the dark, which is why it is so important we are able to go into schools and provide information about road safety at this time of year.”

The Child Brain Injury Trust is a charity that supports children, young people, their families and professionals after brain injury. They have put together the following simple tips to teach children and young people about road safety:

• Always hold a child’s hand when walking near a road
• Always choose a safe place to cross roads, i.e. zebra, pelican or toucan crossing
• Explain to children it is not safe where they can’t see far along the road
• Use the Green Cross Code with children
• Ensure to keep looking and listening for traffic when it is safe to cross the road
• Always use zebra or light controlled crossing if available
• Always walk on the pavement, never stray onto the road
• Where there is no pavement, walk in single file on the right hand side of the road

For more information about Child Brain Injury Trust and ‘Glow Day’ or to donate, please visit www.childbraininjurytrust.org.uk.