Horace takes the lead on road safety

MORE BITE has been added to the Think! road safety campaign in the form of animated figure Horace the dog.

Created by Wallace and Gromit company Aardman, Horace has been introduced to highlight a road safety competition in which schoolchildren will be asked to create their own short animated films to communicate key road safety messages to fellow pupils.

The RAC, which is donating £250,000 to help fund future road safety initiatives, is hoping Horace will prove as popular, and as effective, as former road safety champions such as Tufty and the Green Cross Code man.

The RAC and the Department for Transport's Think! team are contacting schools and asking teachers to encourage pupils to take part in the competition.

Roads Minister Robert Goodwill said: "The numbers of children being injured or killed on our roads in recent years is the lowest it's been for decades but until we reach the point when no children are hurt, our work to improve safety will continue.

"The RAC's initiative will ensure pupils across the country learn more about the importance of road safety and I hope that with Horace's help the number of children hurt on our roads will decline even further."

RAC chief executive Chris Woodhouse said: "We are committed to making our roads safer places for everyone and we believe the key to this will be engaging road users from a young age and championing safety education in schools.

"Road casualties in the UK might be at a record low but rates now seem to have reached a plateau so greater effort is needed to bring them lower still. Every life lost is one too many and another family devastated."

The competition is open to school children aged four to 16, as well as Scouts, Brownies and other clubs and groups as well as individuals.

By Press Association reporters