Bear-faced safety facts

Hull City Council road safety officer Sue Boyeson and her trusted assistant Woolly

The number of children killed or seriously injured on Hull's roads has fallen by almost two thirds in the last 10 years – and Woolly the bear has helped.

He may look like your average bear but more than 4,500 primary school children across Hull have come to know and love Woolly.
He's been travelling around Hull's schools as the star of an award-winning road safety project that teaches children about the importance of wearing seat belts in the car.
"We tell the children a story about how Woolly gets hurt because he was not wearing his seat belt," says Sue Boyeson, road safety officer from Hull City Council, who has helped devise the project.
"The children then go outside to a vehicle where they find Woolly sitting safely strapped into a booster cushion, and take it in turns to belt up just like Woolly."
The project has been running for four years this month, making Woolly a grand four years old.
In that time it's believed the project has been one of the major factors in helping to reduce child casualties on Hull's roads.
"But a lot of children are still not wearing seat belts," warns Sue.
"In their own words, some children have told me that they've hurt their nose when they bumped into the back of mum or dad's seat when they've been in the back of the car.
"If the driver pulls up sharply when going at speed the consequences for back seat passengers can be fatal – but the risk is a lot less if they're wearing seat belts."

Thanks due

Hull City Council would like to thank Hull John Roe Toyota for supplying the vehicle used in the Woolly schools exercise as part of the above project.
Hull in print would also like to thank pupils and staff at Gillshill primary school for their help with this feature, and in particular pupil Rebecca Budgen for being the star of this month's front cover.