Sameena Bashir looks visibly shaken as she sits in the driving seat of a smashed car while firefighters cut open the vehicle.

Thankfully, she is not being rescued from a real smash, but is taking part in a demonstration at a road safety event.

Held at Lapage Primary School and involving neighbouring Bradford Moor Community Primary School and Delius School, all off Barkerend Road, the event saw a number of agencies conveying to parents and pupils the importance of road safety for drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

Co-ordinated by Bradford Council’s road safety team, it is one of a number of similar events taking place in areas with high numbers of child road casualties. Bradford Moor ward, in which the schools are located, has one of the highest rates in the district, with 53 in 2008 to 2010, out of a district-wide total of 874.

Says senior road safety officer with Bradford Council Huma Boskani: “Events such as this are as much about educating parents as children. You can teach youngsters about road safety, but some casualties are very young – under three – and that must be the parents’ responsibility. In some cases it is lack of supervision – young children should not be left out on their own.”

With five children aged between ten and three, Sameena hopes the event, including the role she is playing, helps to get across vital messages such as the need to wear seat belts, drive carefully and be responsible as a pedestrian.

“Being inside the car was scary,” she says following her rescue. “The fire officers were great and explained everything to me as they went along, but I was not injured and can only imagine how terrifying it must be if you are hurt, and especially if your children are travelling with you.”

The events also include a ‘seat belt sledge’ with a dummy adult and baby, showing what happens in a crash when seat belts and car seat restraints are not worn.

“Parents think ‘It is never going to happen to us,’” says Sanaa Jafry, fire prevention officer with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Road safety officer with Bradford Council Katie Monaghan gives out stickers for parents to hand to children who put on their seat belts. “A lot of parents say that their children didn’t want to wear them, and think a sticker may help.”

Fluorescent stickers are also given out, along with ‘be safe, be seen’ literature to aid safety on darker mornings and nights.

The issues raised at this and similar events are not forgotten once it is over. “There will be a lot of follow-up work in class, both with children and parents,” says Wahid Zahman, headteacher at Lapage Primary School. “We hold community classes here which are attended by parents, so we will keep putting the messages across.

“The health and safety of our children is paramount, and it is great to see so many people at this event and to have parents and pupils asking questions. It sparks a lot of debate.”

As well as providing extra resources for the school, the Council’s road safety team will provide additional measures including pedestrian training for parents, road safety newsletters for the area, and door-knocking by both the team and neighbourhood wardens.

The event was also attended by agencies including the oral health team at NHS Bradford & Airedale, the Families’ Information Service, the Young People’s Drug and Alcohol Service.

“In areas where child casualties are high, we often find that there are other child health issues,” says Huma.

West Yorkshire Police were also present, advising on issues including parking and safety during the school run.

Staff from other schools in the area also attended, and it is hoped will go on to host similar events themselves.

Parent Roshan Hussian, whose children are aged nine and 12, says: “They say they don’t want to wear seat belts, but we tell them they have to, and I always drive slowly and carefully.”

Adds mother-of-three Shabana Kauser: “This event has definitely made an impact. It is so important to protect our children – it is something every parents must do.”