A quarrying company that will be delivering materials for new schools in a Highland town has been teaching local children how to stay safe on roads used by large trucks.
Breedon Aggregates teamed up with the police to teach around 400 youngsters at primary schools in the Fort William area about the dangers of getting into a lorry driver’s “blind spot” while cycling or walking.
The Dundee-based company, which operates a quarry in Ballachulish, took two of its trucks along to Banavie and Caol primary schools yesterday and Fort William RC Primary School today to show pupils and their parents the equipment that has been fitted to improve safety.
Area quarry manager Mark Henderson explained that the aim of the exercise was to ensure that its vehicles did not cause safety issues for children in the Lochaber town while they were making deliveries to the school sites.
He said: “If it saves one child from getting hurt, then it’s worthwhile.”
Mr Henderson explained that they took along mats that were set up around the trucks to show the pupils where the blind-spots were.
He said: “The children were shepherded into them by the traffic police.
“We then took them into the cabs so they could see that they couldn’t be seen by the driver when they were in them.
“And we advised them to keep out of the blind-spots.”
A police spokeswoman said: “Police Scotland work closely with partners to ensure roads around local primary schools are kept as safe as possible for all users, especially now the winter nights are upon us.”
All the children taking part were given high visibility vests and torches.