Top Tips: James Storey, 13 of Grantham, learns from Jumicar director Ann McGrane.

Mrs. Ashworth said the children also learned the importance of concentration: "Perhaps that will stop them bothering their parents when they're in the car." Jumicar is a German invention, which has only been in Britain for a year. Schemes are already running in Essex, Herts. and Kent, where it is used in schools to help with road awareness. Mrs. Ashworth is hoping to run the scheme in schools in Notts. "the school version is bigger and would include room for pedestrians, so they can learn how to cross the road." she said. Road safety Campaigner Sabine Marlow is backing the scheme. Her son Christopher, 12, died four years ago on a road junction after being hit by a speeding drink-driver. Mrs. Marlow, of Stockhill Circus, New Basford, said: "I think anything that can be done to improve children's road sense is brilliant.

"They need to learn what to look out for and to concentrate on their surroundings." She added: "It's supposed to be fun but they need to realise the seriousness of the scheme." Nottingham City Council road safety officer Francis Ashton said: "Anything that teaches road safety to children is a good idea. Bit people should be aware that children under eight should not be out on the roads on their own, they should be with an adult." Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, welcomed the launch of Jumicar in Notts. He said: "We think it is a good idea to make people develop a responsible attitude to driving from a young age. " Research shows a lot of youngsters think they are going to be fast drivers when they grow up. So we hope this will diffuse one or two of those myths and make them think that driving is a way of getting from A to B, rather than an expressive activity."

Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, welcomed the launch of Jumicar in Notts. He said: "We think it is a good idea to make people develop a responsible attitude to driving from a young age. "

Nottingham City Council road safety officer Francis Ashton said: "Anything that teaches road safety to children is a good idea."