Students attending Safety Day in Saint John, N.B. listen to members of the Saint John Police Force. (Tamara Steele/CHSJ News)
More than 400 grade four and five students gathered at the Lord Beaverbrook Arena in Saint John, N.B. on Tuesday for Safety Day.
It’s an event put on by WorkSafeNB and dates back 12 years when the first event was held to keeps kids working on potato farms in Florenceville-Bristol safe.
Tim Peterson is the Vice-President of Prevention at WorksafeNB.
“Safety Day originated out of serious accidents happening in the farming industry including fatalities in the northern part of the province,” Peterson said.
Stella the Skunk greets the kids on Safety Day at the LBR. It’s put on by Worksafe NB. pic.twitter.com/qelLV81DEh
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) September 24, 2019
Jim McGregor, the chief instructor for the New Brunswick A.T.V. Federation, tells us he gives each group of students a basic overview.
“We talk about all the laws that pertain to ATVing especially where kids are involved, the most important one being age-appropriate ATV’s.
We tell them which ones they are allowed to ride and which ones they are not allowed to ride and the importance of safety gear and wearing them.” McGregor said.
A loud buzzer goes off in the LBR and the students move to a different safety station. pic.twitter.com/EY5LTofP3L
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) September 24, 2019
Kate Searle of WorkSafeNB spoke to the students about farm safety, especially when it comes to tractors and other equipment.
“I want to focus on the machine blindspots because I find kids like to run around and get really excited on a farm,” Searle said.
More than 20 safety stations were set up inside the arena covering topics like being safe in the sun to hearing safety and sports safety.
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