'Child detector' fitted to ice-cream van

Drivers will be alerted if children are in danger

An ice-cream van has become the first in the UK to be fitted with a "child detector" device.

Road safety officials hope the electronic system will cut the number of youngsters killed or injured by the vehicles.

It works by using sensors on the front and rear bumpers to create an infra-red field around the van.

Alarms and warning lights will alert the driver if he or she tries to move off when a child is nearby.

We have a duty to look at ways of reducing the number of children who die on the roads

Andy Miller, road safety official

The idea follows the death of a two-year-old child in Merseyside who was trying to retrieve a ball from underneath an ice-cream van.

About 20 children are killed or seriously injured near ice-cream vans on Merseyside every year.

Andy Miller, road safety officer for Knowsley Council, said: "We have a duty to look at ways of reducing the number of children who die on the roads.

"There were cases of very young children being killed or injured near ice-cream vans in Knowsley.

"The problem was not one of speed but that drivers had difficulty seeing small children near the van.

Infra-red system

"We thought that there must be a way of using sensors and got advice about the system we could use."

Mr Miller said some executive-model cars now offered warning buzzers which sounded when drivers were parking and coming too near other vehicles.

However these devices normally rely on ultrasound which would not always work with small children.

Instead, Mr Miller and his team came up with a system which uses infra-red sensors to detect movement - similar to those used in modern burglar alarms.

Strobe lights

Mr Miller added: "We have been testing the system for about three weeks and although there were some teething problems it is working well now."

Each system, which also includes larger wing-mirrors to reduce the driver's blind spot and strobe lights to warn passing motorists, costs about £500.

Mr Miller hopes to provide the devices for each of Knowsley's 24 ice-cream vans by the end of the year.

We will be watching this scheme to see the benefits it brings

Rospa spokesman

Money for the scheme comes from the council's road safety budget, which also includes cash for speed humps and pedestrian crossings.

The scheme has been welcomed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

A spokesman said: "This is bringing the 'Mind That Child' warning into the new century.

"We have seen how technology can endanger people's safety, such as driving while using a mobile phone, but this is an excellent example of how it can be used to improve safety.

"Anything that improves the safety of children around ice cream vans is to be welcomed and we will be watching this scheme to see the benefits it brings."