The Manitoba Driver, from Manitoba Public Insurance
March 2008
About 300 words
Travelling roadshow drives home importance of road safety
Manitoba Public Insurance is now taking bookings for Safety on Wheels, the popular travelling road safety demonstrations that tour the province every summer.
Anyone wishing to invite the displays to their community, such as schools, day cares or other groups, can do so online at www.mpi.mb.ca. Safety on Wheels tours May 5-Aug. 27. There is no charge for the service.
“One of the most effective tools for making our streets and highways safer is education,” says John Douglas, Vice-President, Public Affairs, for Manitoba Public Insurance. “Safety on Wheels provides a fun, interactive way for young and old alike to learn how vital road safety is for all of us.”
There are four separate displays involved in Safety on Wheels. The Rollover Simulator features a revolving half truck, which simulates forces that toss unbelted crash-test dummies with devastating consequences.
Children aged 4 to 7 can experience real driving with Mini CarTown and learn safe manners by driving electric cars through a town streetscape with traffic signs, lights, and pedestrian and railway crossings.
Drinking, Driving and Fatal Vision simulates impaired vision from intoxication and tests hand-eye co-ordination with a series of fun tests. Participants are frustrated surprisingly quickly in their attempts.
Cycle Safely Bike Rodeo provides a fun, early riding lesson for young children. Youngsters are instructed on the rules of the road, traffic signs and bicycle helmets, followed by riding skills exercises.
David Gross, co-coordinator for the Rolling Acres Colony Farm Safety Day last June, says the Rollover Simulator “instilled how important it is to practise safety every day. Children raised on a farm don’t realize the danger they’re exposed to. We assume that adults know, but not all do!”
For more information on booking Safety on Wheels, see the website at www.mpi.mb.ca.
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© 2008 Manitoba Public Insurance
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