Road scrum before the safety talk

It was a free-for-all on the Peugeot Kids Diving School Track yesterday, as children cut each other up, hogged the middle and got too close for comfort in their pedal convertibles. Photo / Paul Estcourt

You're never too young to fall victim to road rage or to cut someone off, as seen at the launch of a road safety programme yesterday.

A nice orderly talk with children about give-way rules, traffic lights and road signs quickly turned into a derby at the one-hour Kids Driving School workshop held at the Peugeot dealership in Greenlane.

The 3- to 6-year-olds were there to learn about good driving habits.

But when they saw 20 convertible pedal cars and a roll-up circuit complete with make-believe animals, traffic lights, crossings and parking spaces, their excitement took over.

Grant Smith, general manager of Peugeot in New Zealand, said he had imagined he would sit the kids down and teach them about road safety.

However, after the kids wore themselves out the group had a chat about road rules and how to be safe near cars.

"We think you're never too young to start learning, and they really took on board what we were saying," Mr Smith said.

The workshop is free but a minimum $10 donation to Cure Kids is encouraged.