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Partnership visited 160 school children last week as part of the Concrete Rugby programme
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Last week local kids were provided with expert advice on bike safety
Aggregate Industries’ ‘Get on Your Bike’ initiative, in partnership with Leicester Tigers, continues to gain momentum as last week’s sessions saw Leicestershire school kids learn all about the importance of cycle safety.
During the course of the week, a total of 160 children from schools across the Leicestershire region received a special safety talk from the Tigers’ team designed to help them to keep safe whilst on their bike, including advice on the potential hazards, the importance of wearing a helmet, the benefits of high-visibility clothing and some best-practice cycling etiquette.
In addition, Aggregate Industries’ experts, Steve White, H&S Business Partner, and Paul Denby, Senior Health & Safety Advisor, stopped by to offer further insight into safe cycling around lorries, the typical blind spots for lorry drivers and what the business is doing to help optimise safety on the roads, particularly when it comes to cyclists.
This comes as the latest ROSPA report has highlighted that a total of 1,981 children were injured as the result of a cycling accident on the road in 2016, 309 of which were seriously injured and eight of which, tragically, died.1
Paul Denby of Aggregate Industries said: “Cycling needs to be encouraged – it’s good for health, good for the environment and a great way of exploring the local area. However, it’s important that safety comes first at all times – and it’s not just about wearing a helmet or high-visibility clothing, it’s also about cycling correctly too.”
Steve White of Aggregate Industries adds: “What a great day and overall experience. It was also great to see the kids engage with us when we spoke to them with regards to transport safety, cycling safety and not least the importance of keeping fit and how sport can help in this way. We hope the children really take our advice on board when out and about on their bikes this summer, to help keep them and others safe.”
The ‘Get on Your Bike’ campaign has been designed to get school children in Leicestershire more active and spend more time cycling. The campaign forms part of the Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers Concrete Rugby initiative, which champions a healthy lifestyle, team work and self-confidence in young people, through the introduction of key rugby skills. It will have reached out to more than 1,500 Leicestershire students aged 11-14 by the end of the 2017/18 school year.
As the next phase of the programme, Leicester Tigers and Aggregate Industries will be visiting numerous schools across the region to discuss health and nutrition.
Aggregate Industries is also hosting a social media campaign, encouraging pupils to get involved by asking a friend to take pictures or videos of them with their bike (in a safe space) and tweeting @aggregateuk, using the hashtag #getonyourbike.
For further information please visit https://www.aggregate.com/sustainability/people-and-communities/get-on-your-bike
