School class disappears from school playground! At road safety workshops with Blicki e.V. in Mainz, an original ZOELLER refuse vehicle serves as a demonstration object and provides some aha moments.

At around 9:15 a.m., the magical moment comes for the pupils of 3c at the Peter-Härtling elementary school: All their classmates have disappeared. Gone. Completely. The blind spot on a truck is so big that almost the entire class can fit in. Amazement, shaking heads and the question: „Where on earth are you?“ from the driver’s cab. The subsequent realization: no wonder accidents happen when the driver has no chance of seeing children at all.

Accident statistics from the Federal Statistical Office count more than 26,000 people involved in accidents with personal injury involving goods vehicles in Germany in 2023. According to Blicki e.V., the youngest road users are particularly at risk. With its safety and assistance systems for trucks, ZÖLLER-KIPPER offers technical options on the vehicle, but also wants to get involved in educational prevention work. After all, young road users should not just rely on systems, but rather on themselves.

Really big cars to touch
Since 2017, more than 72,000 primary school children across Germany have been trained in live workshops by Blicki e.V. The association is committed to educating children about correct behavior in road traffic – with a focus on large vehicles and trucks. „Children are fascinated by trucks, their enthusiasm is so strong that they often don’t see the danger,“ explains Rosamaria La Russa from the association.

The Blicki assignments in elementary school are designed to get the kids up close and personal without any danger! That’s why they always take part: real trucks provided by partners from the logistics and municipal vehicle industry, in this case an original orange refuse collection vehicle.

It’s a great experience for the kids every time – not only do they get to see the transport giants up close and personal, they also get to climb into the driver’s cab and see for themselves how different the world looks from up there. One pupil is so enthusiastic that she doesn’t want to get out of the driver’s seat and declares: „When I grow up, I’m going to be a truck driver!“

Broadening perspectives, protecting lives
The aim and purpose of the workshop is to sensitize children in a playful way. This practical part is prepared in class in the weeks beforehand. On the action day itself, movement is the order of the day. Not only when the life-size cuddly toy mascot Blicki appears in the schoolyard – and could almost use personal protection from the storms of enthusiasm. In running games, for example, the kids can try out for themselves what a braking distance is. One group runs, the other shouts stop … And it’s almost acrobatic when the children explore their own field of vision with their arms and hands: Where can you still see your hand and when can you no longer see it? Logo – behind the head is definitely the end. Just like behind the truck or in the blind spot.

Volker Schröder, CFO of the ZOELLER GROUP and himself a father of two, attended the workshop and is enthusiastic: „A great and important initiative! Educationally well presented and executed – an idea that we as a company want to continue to take up and support.“

Blicki’s top 3 tips
1. if you want to cross the road, you should always use traffic lights or a crosswalk, even if you have to make a small detour.
2. always wait until the truck comes to a stop at the crosswalk too: trucks have a long braking distance and cannot stop immediately.
3. always stand behind the truck on the right at traffic lights so that the driver can see you in the mirror.

You can find more road safety tips at www.blicki-blickts.de