This is the moment a school promoted safe driving – by getting youngsters to lie in the road and play dead in a series of bizarre poses.
The “unusual” project to persuade drivers to be more cautious saw pupils strewn across the asphalt – lying in patterns on yellow lines.
The stunt was organised to highlight safety while urging motorists to exercise care when picking up and dropping off their young ones from school.
Parents at Banchory Primary School in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland said the desperate measure came about after all other ideas had been investigated.
The stunt has created a stir and accident prevention charities have warned that parents and schools should resort to more “traditional means of publicising”.
But the local police force said the dramatic approach would grab the attention of drivers and “hopefully get the message across more effectively”.
Councillor Darren Lee, who represents the Clackmannanshire West ward, said he supports the “bold move”.
He said: “I am in total agreement of what the parent council is trying to do. Just a couple of weeks ago, my son was nearly hit by a car speeding down that road.
“There are a lot of near misses on a regular basis. Nothing is working. We’ve tried working with the police and speed bumps and yellow lines were put in place.
“Unfortunately, people are completely flouting those. They speed over the bumps and park over the lines. We need to start educating the parents,” he added.
“I think this image was needed because sometimes you need to shock people into action. We just want the parents to be educated.
“Sadly, if they don’t take notice, it’s inevitable that a fatality will occur.”
Alastair Freck, chair of the parent council, said the mock-up of the pupils playing dead has already sparked some debate among parents on social media.
However, he argues there have been a number of “close calls” in recent memory and that their efforts are aimed at making sure the image of children injured or killed does not become a reality.
He said: “It is a bit unusual and a bit dramatic, but seems to be having the desired effect because people are already talking about it.
“And though it’s caused a bit of a stir, it has been mostly well-received.
“It’s not about blaming parents,” he added.
“We just want people driving near to the school to consider where and how they are parking and to make sure they are doing so safely and legally.
“There has been a quite a few close calls in the past and generally speaking some of the kids can find it hard to cross roads and get to school.
“We also need to make sure that the fire service, the ambulance service and the police can get to the school easily, if they need to.”
He continued: “It’s getting to the stage where police will have to come out and start fining people – and that’s not what we want.”
In the past, Police Scotland has threatened to issue fixed penalty notices to motorists who ignore parking regulations near schools.
The issue has been highlighted at a number of places in the area, with road checks set up in the past.
But it is hoped that the safety campaign being orchestrated at Banchory might help influence driver behaviour in other areas.
Mr Freck added: “I know most schools in Clackmannanshire experience the same problem – we know that we are not the only one.
“We are obviously hoping that parents will think about where they are parking here, but we also hope this will affect those dropping off at other schools in the county too.”
A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: “A stunt like this is definitely not something we could condone.
“We would urge people to use traditional means of publicising, such as highlighting any issues with the local media in the area.”
There was a mixed reaction to the stunt on social media, with some parents furious and some pleased that action was being taken.
One angry parent said: “The same school where a teacher/member of staff parks on the path ignoring the double yellows in the playground.
“Glad my boy leaves here at end of month.”
One parent commended the images and called for more action to be taken.
She said: “I think it’s a powerful image and is appropriate for all schools.
“Ban parking completely in the immediate area around schools and make the parents/ guardians walk to pick up the children.”
Constable Leigh Allen, community officer for Clackmannanshire West said: “We were happy to support this event organised by the parents’ council.
“It highlights how dangerous it is to park on the double yellow lines outside the school.
“Officers attended to ensure the road was free of traffic so it was safe for the children to lie down on the road,” he continued.
“Letters are given out to parents advising them not to park on the double yellow lines.
“I thought this was a different tack that might grab their attention and hopefully get the message across more effectively.”
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Clackmannanshire Council said: “The Chief Education Officer is liaising with the Headteacher to explore and engage with parents on this matter.”
