Ditch the Distraction

Kent Highways Services are launching a new road safety campaign called 'Ditch the Distraction'.

It's to try and prevent road accidents caused by children getting distracted by mobile phones, MP3 players and mucking around.

In the past three years 78 11-16 year olds have been killed or seriously injured on Kent's roads.

The campaign gets the attention of students with surprise activity in the classroom involving an actor who appears wearing a body cast from the waist up.  The actor then creates a few minutes of havoc as he tries to talk into a mobile phone which won't reach his ear because his arms are in the plaster cast.

This activity will be rolled out to 20 schools in the county, where casualty rates are highest.

Experts say new technology over the last 10 years including phones, MP3 players and handheld computers has added a whole new list of distractions to children crossing the road, to add to existing ones like eating, drinking, chatting and being tired.