All 3,300 primary schools in Ireland are to receive a road-safety pack to help children learn effective road safety practices.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said the Mace/Road Safety Authority Safe to School campaign includes a Walking to School Guide that encourages children to pay attention to traffic, to wear protective clothing if walking in the dark and to only cross a road at a pedestrian crossing.
More than 100,000 Irish primary school children walk to school every day.
This is the first phase of the Safe to School campaign. Additional campaigns focusing on other modes of transport will be unveiled in September of this year and in 2008.
Speaking at St Brigid's National School on Dublin's Haddington Road, Mr Cullen said pupils can play a huge part in getting their parents, older brothers and sisters as well as their childminders to change their driving habits for the better and make our roads safer.
"Not alone is the journey to school an ideal way for children to take part in regular physical exercise, but it also plays an important role in developing the road sense children need as pedestrians and cyclists," he said.