Year 5 pupils from Robert Drake Primary School helped deliver a powerful road safety message to drivers in Benfleet, as a Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP) Vision Zero-Day combined school education, community engagement, and targeted enforcement.
“I’ve spent my whole life in education, but this has been the biggest lesson I’ve had.”
That was the response from one driver after speaking to schoolchildren about speeding during a School Speed Watch session, showing how a humanising conversation with young people can make drivers stop and think about their behaviour and how it affects the local community.
The pupils spoke to 20 drivers who were travelling above the speed limit, where recorded speeds ranged from 34mph to 41mph.
The children’s presence clearly resonated with some drivers, with another commenting: “I’ve had a speed awareness course, I’ve had points, listening to the children has really made me think.”
Taking road safety into the community
The team also spoke with families on the school run, handing out road safety leaflets and reflective accessories for children to wear on their coats and bags as part of the Be Bright, Be Seen campaign, which highlights the risks faced by young pedestrians as the evenings draw in, with the most vulnerable age group being those that have started to travel independently to secondary school.
Be Bright, Be Seen also reminds drivers of their responsibility to take extra caution as the darker evenings arrive, to allow for the reduced visibility making pedestrian movements harder to anticipate.
Across the day, the teams spoke to more than 300 people about road safety in Benfleet, with positive feedback from residents who welcomed the visible presence of road safety partners in the area.
Targeting risky driving
Enforcement activity also took place on London Road, Benfleet, where officers identified 29 seatbelts offences and 28 mobile phone offences, alongside other unsafe driving behaviours.
The operation resulted in 85 offences being issued across the enforcement activity, alongside three arrests for drug-driving, seven vehicles seized, and four drivers were reported for having no insurance.
One driver stopped for using a mobile phone said they had recently attended a speed awareness course where the dangers of distraction had been explained, highlighting the importance of continuing to reinforce these messages and encourage safer choices.
During another interaction, officers spoke to a rear-seat passenger from the Netherlands about the legal requirements and safety risks associated with wearing a seatbelt. The conversation also introduced them to Vision Zero and its international ambition to prevent deaths and serious injuries on the roads.
Every conversation can make a difference
The Benfleet Vision Zero Day demonstrated how bringing together education, engagement and enforcement can reach people in different ways, from schoolchildren challenging speeding drivers to officers addressing dangerous behaviour on the roadside.
The Safer Essex Roads Partnership continues to work with its partners to reduce casualties and support Vision Zero. Every journey is an opportunity to make safer choices, and every conversation can help bring Essex closer to roads where no one is killed or seriously injured.
