AN academy to train volunteers to deliver essential road safety education to communities across the UK was launched today.
Aimed primarily at making streets safer for youngsters, the academy is being set up by Huddersfield-based road safety charity Brake and delivery company FedEx.
Volunteers will receive training from Brake road safety experts and will become academy "graduates" in a particular road safety topic.
These graduates will then pass on practical advice to thousands of road users.
Brake is taking action because of their grave concern over child safety on the roads. On average, six under-18s die every week on Britain's roads, 115 are seriously injured and 776 receive minor injuries.
Overall, road crashes are the second biggest killer of children in Britain and the single biggest killer of 15 to 19-year-olds.
Brake chief executive Mary Williams said: "We know thousands of people want to improve road safety in their communities, but they often don't know where to start.
"The academy is open to anyone who can volunteer their time to help others.
"Brake will `train the trainers', provide plenty of support and resources, and will keep in regular touch with them to ensure their success."
She said the academy hoped to train nearly 300 volunteers in its first year.
