Nice, Pilot City for the “Pedestrian License Adapted for All Children” Initiative
In October 2008, Nice became the first city with more than 350,000 inhabitants to implement the Pedestrian License within its territory, with the collaboration of the Municipal Police, the National Gendarmerie, and the National Education. Since its launch, more than 3,200 children have been trained in a fun and educational way on precautionary rules, enabling them to ensure their own safety as pedestrians in the city.
Given the success of this operation, Nice wanted to become a pilot for a “Pedestrian License Adapted for All Children,” which would allow children with disabilities, educated in the city’s schools, to undergo the same training as all other school children. Thus, the city council mobilized an expert team to audit the educational kit for this license and to recommend necessary adjustments for its use by children with disabilities. Association leaders, teachers, school principals, municipal police officers specialized in prevention, worked together with EGC & Associates in charge of the national implementation of the Adapted Pedestrian License.
The “Adapted Pedestrian License” and a film on pedestrian safety, specially made for the occasion, will be presented in Nice in a national premiere!
This Monday, May 4, students from three classes will receive their licenses from Christian Estrosi. This ceremony will also be an opportunity for Nice to present this license in a national premiere. The educational kits will indeed be distributed throughout France at the start of the 2009 school year. They will be adapted for children who are non-sighted, hearing impaired, and wheelchair users. Whether they are in mixed classes or specialized classes, they will thus be able to obtain their Pedestrian License like their able-bodied peers.
During the event, a film on pedestrian safety, specially made for the occasion, will be shown. Its main actors are Aladji Ba, a non-sighted individual, a medalist at the Sydney Paralympic Games in the 400 meters, Ahmed Jeddi, paralyzed from the legs, PACA 2009 champion of wheelchair tennis, and Delphine Soyer-Benvéniste, hearing impaired, a state-certified dance teacher.
