Student safety is paramount at NATO`s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) international school and toward the end of last year, a construction contractor, Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau AG, demonstrated the dangers of vehicles and trucks to more than 40 SHAPE schoolchildren. Belgian primary school students moved into temporary facilities in November to accommodate the construction of the future school campus. Each morning on their way to class, students cross the construction site entrance in front of their school, said Mr. Asad Mirza, a Wayss & Freytag project engineer and briefng organizer. "For the 6- to 13-yearold children attending school in the [temporary facilities], there may be new and unfamiliar dangers lurking," said Mr. Mirza. "So we asked SHAPE International School if it was okay to do a safety briefng and they thought it was a good chance to show the children they have to be careful." The SHAPE community is in the midst of moderniz- ing its international school campus. Modernization translates into the construction of four state-of-the- art schools: American elementary, middle, and high schools, and an international school are slated to replace current aging facilities dating back to the 1960s. Today and for the foreseeable future, con- struction and education take place in close proximity at SHAPE. Mr. Mirza, together with Mr. Evangelos Tsipras, a Wayss & Freytag mechanical engineer, set up the safety demonstration by marking off the blind spot or blind angle of a large, parked construction truck. "Classes 6a and 6b were allowed to take on the role of truck driver, thanks in part to the subcontractor Peremans," said Mr. Mirza. "They climbed into the seat to see exactly what a driver sees, and more importantly, doesn`t see in the blind angle. The children sitting in the driver`s seat were surprised that their whole class could ft in the blind angle. They were quite impressed and will keep that in mind." According to Mr. Mirza, the idea of educating SHAPE students on vehicle awareness was borrowed. His service club in Germa- ny conducts similar briefngs for local elementary schools. The objective is to teach young kids to seek to be seen by drivers, look left and right when crossing the street - even if there is no noise - and to pay attention at all roads and intersections. Mr. Dennis Mayer (USA - Civ), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District project engineer overseeing SHAPE schools, applauded Wayss & Freytag for executing the voluntary safety briefng. "The beneft is enhanced safety around the construction site," said Mr. Mayer. "As a dad, whatever we can do to improve the safety and security of kids makes me happy." Teachers and educators were also thrilled with the demonstration. Jean-Francios Climino (BEL - Civ), a SHAPE International School teacher explained, role-playing is always more effcient and that is what our students were able to do - be the truck driver. "Children and even adults are now aware of what a driver sees," he said. "The behavior of the children changed immediately after the training." The practical display of danger made more of an impression than a classroom course could have, noted Mr. Mirza. "Kids have to beware because of their size and the size of the trucks," he said. "Even though they are in their own world, they are more a part of it now. They have experienced the truck driv- er`s perspective." The safety exercise`s aim was to heighten student awareness around the school construction site. Vehicle blind spots, especially those of trucks, are much larger than the average adult or child realizes. The truck used in the demonstration had a 40-degree blind spot extending away from the vehicle, said Mr. Mirza. "This should also increase awareness when they are not at school," he noted. Children are frequently in the presence of trucks, SUVs and minivans at shopping centers, in neighborhoods and near parks. The Europe District is grateful to Wayss & Freytag for taking measures to decrease the likelihood of vehicle-related accidents in the community, Mayer said. "Children are led by guidance; we have to teach them what is right," he added. USACE Contractor Teaches NATO Students Vehicle Safety 8] Jerr|ler A|dr|de (uSA - C|v}, Puo||c Alla|r Spec|a|||, u.S. Arr] Corp ol Er|reer Europe C||r|c|