Dundela Men’s Group achieves a safety ‘first’
Recently St Mark’s Dundela Men’s Group became the first church group to visit the RADAR safety complex in Sydenham Business Park, Belfast. In a short time, the facility has become a firm favourite with local school children and groups promoting all forms of personal safety.
All of the facility is indoors and includes a train carriage, a bus, a police station, a court, house supermarket and other premises. Exhibits developed in association with the fire service included a smoke room, where visitors can see how quickly a room can fill with smoke and prevent escape.
A large emphasis was placed on internet safety with graphic examples of how easy it is for children to become victims of crime unless they adopt a more sensible approach to their use of Social Media. Large video screens simulating a vehicle attempting to stop amazed everyone at Just how long it took a driver to perceive and respond to a careless pedestrian.
The group were also encouraged to see what the world was like with ‘beer googles’ on. No alcohol was consumed, but the group were encouraged to wear depth perception distortion goggles. These made everyone look like ‘minions’ but it really brought home just how dangerous the public road can be as a pedestrian.
Finally, the group were able to drive the vehicle sim costing over £120,000. Despite the curate being an advanced driver, it wasn’t long before he was reliving his gaming experience on “grand theft auto” and becoming a menace to all the virtual characters. One of the group even managed to sacrifice a virtual sheep.
The manager of RADAR, Michaela Fox, proved to be a very amusing and informative host. RADAR is like a theme park for those who feel they have seen it all. The facility welcomes enquiries from groups of any age.
Further details can be found at the RADAR website here.
Revd Christopher St John, Curate Assistant