1. Children are amongst our most vulnerable road users. We have made great efforts over several decades to reduce the number of children killed or injured in road accidents. We have achieved a big reduction, but, sadly, it remains true that road accidents are one of the major causes of death and injury for children and young people. Each and every death of a child is a tragedy, so we need to redouble our efforts and make sure we reduce the number of casualties still further.
2. Our target is to reduce by 50% the numbers of children aged 0-15 killed and seriously injured in Great Britain, by 2010, compared with the average for 1994-98. We are well on track to meet or exceed this target. By 2005, the number of children killed or seriously injured was already 49% below the 1994-98 baseline. But we cannot be complacent and must continue our efforts to ensure child casualties keep falling up to 2010 and beyond.
3. This child casualty target is more challenging than our overall target to reduce all fatal and serious injuries by 40% by 2010. This is because child pedestrian casualty rates in Great Britain have historically been higher than in many other European countries, while our overall casualty rates have been amongst the best. While we have improved, there is still a long way to go.
4. When we set the road safety targets for 2010 in 2000 we said we would review progress every three years. The Department's second three year review of the road safety strategy Tomorrow's roads: safer for everyone, sets out a range of measures to improve road safety. While not specific to child road safety, these more general measures to improve road safety for all will also contribute to reducing the number of child casualties.
5. Many organisations - Government Departments, local authorities, police and other emergency services, health services, schools charities and others - are involved in the work to reduce the number of child road casualties. It is vital that we all work together to take forward this strategy to reduce the number of children killed and injured in road accidents.
6. There are wider initiatives to improve the health and safety of children that have a common interest with our aim of reducing child road accident casualties. These include the Every Child Matters initiative, the Healthy Schools programme, the Travelling to School project and Sure Start.
7. This strategy considers those areas that are a priority for further action, including where we have made less progress towards the target. The main part of this strategy covers the areas for which DfT is responsible. It also summarises the position in Scotland and Wales. The decline amongst the 11-15 year olds has only been around half that of younger children. And boys are overrepresented in the pedestrian and cycling statistics. There are substantial regional variations between the casualty rates for children, with London seeing the biggest casualty reductions. While we have made progress in reducing casualties amongst child pedestrians and car passengers, these remain the two largest groups of all child casualties. Pedestrians make up 61% of children killed or seriously injured. Around three quarters of child casualties are in urban areas, but in rural areas there is a higher proportion of fatal and serious child car occupant casualties.
8. Research informs the measures taken to improve the behaviour of all road users, the design of cars and infrastructure. It lies behind the key messages put out to target audiences such as teens or primary-school aged children, as well as drivers and other road users. This report details research under way or recently completed for the Department, as well as key recent reports from other sources.
9. The strategy looks at measures to improve child road safety under six different themes. These are education, training and lifelong learning; publicity; highway engineering, environment and planning; vehicle engineering and secondary safety; legislation and enforcement; and school journeys. Overarching issues that affect them all and that need to be taken into account when taking forward the actions, include regeneration and partnership working.
10. Much valuable work has already been done by many people and organisations around the country to achieve the casualty reductions seen so far. That work is continuing. The strategy outlines 20 specific actions for the Department and our partners for improving child road safety between now and 2010, building on this existing work and developing some new priorities. The 20 actions are listed in the table below. The main priorities for new or additional efforts are:-
| Action | Delivery | Target Groups |
| Education | ||
| 1 - DfT encourages wider use of Kerbcraft and similar measures and will do more to encourage wider take-up following the evaluation of the pilot schemes. We will put in place a dissemination strategy to encourage local authorities in continuing to provide Kerbcraft training. | DfT, LAs |
Age 5-7 |
| 2 - DfT will continue to promote good practice in the delivery of Road Safety Education (RSE), in the light of findings from the current research projects on RSE and pre-driver education. | DfT |
All ages All modes Parents, friends and peers Teachers / schools LAs, police and fire |
| 3 - DfT will work with DfES, Cycling England, the Cycle Training Standards Board, local authorities, RoSPA, schools, and cycling organisations to ensure the new national standard is introduced more widely in the next few years and that the standard will continue to ensure safe priorities are followed. | DfT, LAs, cycling groups |
Age 7-18 Cyclists Teachers / schools LAs |
| 4 - DfT will look for new opportunities to deliver road safety messages to parents and guardians and will encourage local partnerships to implement them. | DfT, DfES, DoH, LAs, schools, health authorities |
All ages All modes Parents, friends and peers Teachers / schools LAs, police and fire, health and social authorities |
| 5 - DfT will research the scope for promoting child-based approaches to promoting road safety within peer groups. | DfT |
All ages All modes Parents, friends and peers Teachers / schools |
| 6 - An audit of all educational and publicity resources produced by the DfT will be carried out in 2007 and they will be reviewed annually to ensure they are well targeted and effective. | DfT |
All ages All modes Parents, friends and peers Teachers / schools LAs, police and fire |
| 7 - DfT will revise and reissue Arrive Alive - A Highway Code for Young Road Users, following launch of the revised Highway Code in mid-2007. | DfT |
Age 7-11 All modes Teachers / schools LAs, police and fire |
| 8 - DfES will help promote safety tips and programme materials through its curriculum guidance. | DfES, schools |
All ages All modes Teachers / schools |
| 9 - Road Safety Officers, police, fire and health services should work together to co-ordinate their activities in schools and elsewhere. They should ensure that officers who work with schools and other bodies are trained to do so. All should ensure that road accident prevention is considered when establishing accident prevention programmes or healthy schools schemes as well as in the design and delivery of road safety interventions and packages. | LAs, RSOs, schools, police, fire and health services |
All ages All modes Teachers / schools LAs, police and fire, health and social authorities |
| Publicity | ||
| 10 - The Think campaign will continue to promote child road safety, taking account of evidence-based prioritisation for targeting and marketing. | DfT |
All ages All modes Teachers / schools LAs, police and fire, health and social authorities |
| 11 - DfT will research the appeal of the hedgehogs campaign for 5 to 11 year olds. We will consider what publicity would be most effective for this age group and whether anything different is needed for 10-11 year olds. | DfT |
Age 5-11 All modes Teachers / schools LAs |
| 12 - DfT will deliver cycle safety messages effectively, as part of our wider road safety publicity for children, making the most of links between safety and cycling promotion. | DfT, Cycling England |
All ages Cyclists Teachers / schools LAs |
| 13 - DfT will develop publicity targeted at parents and guardians, including those who drive, as part of our wider publicity on child road safety. Road safety messages will also be included in our publicity on school travel initiatives. | DfT, DfES, schools, LAs, school travel advisors, RSOs |
All ages All modes Parents Drivers |
| Highway engineering, environment and planning | ||
| 14 - DfT is monitoring and evaluating the road safety benefits of the NRSI, Inner City and Mixed Priority Route demonstration projects, including issues of ethnicity and diverse communities. We will disseminate good practice in 2007 and will update it after the projects and evaluation are complete. | DfT, LAs |
All ages All modes Parents Teachers / schools LAs, police and fire, health and social authorities Different ethnic and socio-economic groups Disadvantaged areas |
| 15 - DfT will continue to monitor local authorities' performance of child road safety audits. | DfT, LAs |
All ages All modes LAs |
| 16 - Local authorities and the Highway Agency should include child road safety in all highways works. In particular, they should consider wider use of 20 mph zones in areas where children are active, traffic calming measures in these zones and other areas, and changes to residential street layouts to minimise through traffic. | DfT, LAs, HA |
All ages All modes LAs HA |
| Vehicle engineering and secondary safety | ||
| 17 - DfT is committed to continued involvement in on going European and harmonised World Wide initiatives to improve car design, including in-car design and restraints as well as pedestrian protection. We shall continue to monitor in-car design features such as airbags, seat strength and luggage retention devices through analysis of field investigations and accident studies to consider both the potential for injury and implications for future amendments to regulations. | DfT, vehicle and CRS industry |
All ages |
| 18 - DfT monitors cycle helmet wearing rates, with a new survey taking place during 2006, with the results published in 2007. Our road safety publicity for teenagers and for younger children includes messages to encourage cycle helmet wearing. | DfT, cycling groups |
All ages Cyclists Parents, friends and peers Teachers / schools LAs |
| 19 - DfT is reviewing the suitability of adult restraints for children in minibuses and coaches in the light of the recommendation from this project. | DfT |
All ages Bus and coach occupants Teachers / schools LAs Vehicle manufacturers |
| Legislation and enforcement | ||
| 20 - Local agencies should work together to ensure that speed limits are observed and crack down on local problems such as disregard of the law applying to School Crossing Patrols and other poor driving offences. | LAs, police, fire, schools |
All ages All modes LAs, police Drivers |
| School journeys | ||
| 21 - From 2007 Local Authorities must consider the travel needs of all pupils and promote sustainable travel to school. All schools must have a robust School Travel Plan by 2010, which could include | Schools, DfT, DfES |
All ages All modes Parents, friends and peers Teachers / schools LAs |
11. Great Britain has one of the best records on road accident deaths in Europe and around the world, but our record is not so good for child pedestrians, although it has improved. In 2005, 28,126 children aged 0-15 were injured in road accidents in Great Britain. 3,331 of these were seriously injured and 141 were killed. These include 11,250 child pedestrian casualties, of which 2,071 were seriously injured and 63 killed.
12. In 2000, in Tomorrow's roads: safer for everyone, we introduced new casualty reduction targets for Great Britain to reduce casualties by 2010, compared with the average for 1994-98:-
13. We subsequently added another target:
Tackling the significantly higher incidence of road accident casualties in disadvantaged communities in England. This was met in 2005, the target date.
14. By 2005, the number of children killed or seriously injured was 49% below the 1994-98 baseline. So we are on track to meet the 2010 target. But we must make sure that we remain on track and preferably do better than that. We also need to look below the target for all children killed or seriously injured to see if there are groups which need more attention.
15. In 2002, we published Child Road Safety: Achieving the 2010 Target which reviewed progress so far, considered developments and brought up to date the actions necessary to achieve the children's target. Since then, many of the actions have been completed or are well under way, while new priorities are arising. This new strategy looks forward to 2010, with new proposals for the future, building on what we have already achieved.
16. Many organisations are involved in the work to reduce the number of child road casualties. These need to work together to make sure that we achieve as much as we can. They are:-
17. The Department for Transport has overall policy responsibility for road safety and for delivering the targets to reduce road accident casualties. Many aspects of road safety are devolved to the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government, with DfT being responsible for England. However, for some aspects of road safety DfT is responsible for the whole of Great Britain, including most legislation. In some areas, such as driver and vehicle licensing, DfT is responsible for the whole of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland.
18. In Scotland and Wales, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government share with the UK Government responsibility for promoting road safety through education and advice and can give grants to local authorities and other bodies for measures to promote road safety. The Executive and Assembly Government has devolved responsibility for road humps and traffic calming and school crossing patrols and, as traffic authority for trunk roads, can set local speed limits, install pedestrian crossings and other engineering measures to ensure the safety of road users. In addition, the Executive and Assembly Government have certain other powers relating to speed limits and the authorisation of non-prescribed traffic signs. Police enforcement in Scotland and the Scottish Court system are also devolved.
19. The main part of this strategy covers the areas for which DfT is responsible. Section 7 summarises the position in Scotland and Wales.
20. DfT sets the policy framework for road safety in England. This includes making legislation (much of which covers the whole of Great Britain or the United Kingdom), undertaking research, conducting Think! publicity campaigns and providing advice, guidance and funding to people delivering road safety on the ground. We also provide some funding for road safety schemes at national level. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is the regulatory authority for driver and rider testing throughout Great Britain and provides advice and training resources to people learning to drive and ride. The Highways Agency (HA) is responsible for operating the trunk road network in England, including most motorways and many other major roads. It actively promotes road safety, through the engineering, design and maintenance of the network and information and publicity.
21. Local authorities are responsible for all other roads. They have a statutory duty to promote road safety in their local areas and most have Road Safety Officers (RSOs) to carry out that duty. They therefore have a leading role in casualty reduction. This includes the design and maintenance of local roads; local publicity campaigns; supporting schools and others who deliver road safety education, training and publicity; working with other local organisations such as the police, fire and rescue service, health authorities and voluntary bodies. English local authorities set local targets and report on casualty reduction in their areas through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) process and its equivalent in London, best value performance indicators and local Public Service Agreements (LPSAs).
22. Other parts of local authorities can also play a part in delivering road safety, such as education and youth services, regeneration and economic development. This includes those working on initiatives such as sure start, mentioned below. Building road safety into wider local policies and greater joint working between different local authority departments can improve delivery of a wider range of policy objectives.
23. Schools provide road safety education, often taught in PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education), but also included in other curriculum subjects. Also, schools are involved in developing travel plans for their pupils and all should have a School Travel Plan by 2010, which provides an opportunity to improve road safety, as part of plans to increase walking, cycling and bus travel to school.
24. The Police are responsible for enforcing the laws that improve road safety. They are also responsible for recording and reporting all injury road accidents and are very much in the front line. So they have an interest in promoting road safety before laws are broken or accidents happen. This includes promotional activity, working with RSOs, in schools and elsewhere. In many parts of Scotland, the Road Safety Unit sits in the police force rather than the local authority, so in those areas the police also have a role in road safety education and training initiatives.
25. The Fire and Rescue Service recognises that, working in partnership with other agencies, it can contribute to reducing the numbers of children and young people killed or seriously injured on the roads. The Service is often on the front line when accidents occur and is increasingly undertaking road safety education, particularly given that its community safety work targets those vulnerable groups who are also at high risk of injury on the roads.
26. Voluntary bodies actively promote road safety, working with DfT, local authorities and others. At a national level, these include organisations such as RoSPA, Brake and the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), who produce information and publicity and hold promotional events. There are also various other voluntary groups and faith organisations active at local level or in more specific sectors. These national and local groups are the main recipients of funding through DfT's Road Safety Challenge Grant Scheme.
27. There are also a number of commercial organisations that provide road safety materials to parents, schools and others and provide or support road safety publicity campaigns. Vehicle and equipment manufacturers and retailers can also contribute to child safety through the design and marketing of primary and secondary safety features. These can include in-vehicle systems that reduce the risk of an accident, such as better braking or tyres, as well as measures to reduce the severity of injuries for both pedestrians and car occupants. Insurance companies can also help to improve road safety, for example through providing discounts to drivers who undertake additional training.
28. DfT also provides grants to help promote cycle safety including a grant to the CTC to fund capacity building for the new national standard cycle training. DfT has also provided funds to the transport charity Sustrans, to help build new links to schools. These routes, which are largely off road, are aimed at enabling more children to walk and cycle to school more safely. Much of the funding for promoting cycling such as cycle training and links to school is now delivered through Cycling England. In June 2006, Cycling England's budget was doubled to £10m per year to 2008/09, with the additional funding being focussed on cycle training for children and additional safe links to school from the National Cycle Network.
29. Other central Government Departments also have a role in promoting child road safety. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has overall responsibility for schools and education, including road safety education and, with DfT, school travel. The Department of Health (DH) has policy responsibility for children's health and so has an interest in preventing road accidents, which are a leading cause of death and injury amongst children. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) leads on local government, regeneration and neighbourhood renewal, as well as the fire and rescue service, while The Home Office has lead responsibility for the police and law enforcement.
30. There are several cross-Government initiatives to improve the lives of children, as well as the child road safety strategy. These are:-
31. Every Child Matters is a programme of change for children and young people, establishing the Children's Service to provide children's care. Its aims include improving children's health and safety and it provides opportunities for working with a range of organisations.
32. The Healthy Schools programme aims to improve children's health in schools. To achieve Healthy School status, a school must meet set criteria including Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). Specific road safety and safe travel examples at key stages 1, 2 and 3 are available for schools to use when teaching PHSE. Also, the Physical Activity criterion specifies encouraging pupils, parents and staff to walk or cycle to school safely using the School Travel Plan. Every local education authority already has a local Healthy Schools programme and all schools should be working for Healthy Schools status by 2009.
33. The Travelling to School project aims to reduce car use for journeys to school and enable more children to take regular exercise by encouraging all schools in England to develop and implement a school travel plan by 2010. Improving the safety of children on their journeys to and from school is an important element of these plans.
34. Sure Start programmes aim to enhance the life chances of children under four who are growing up in disadvantaged communities, and to improve their health and well-being. Under the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative (see below) new educational projects are being formed with Sure Starts in several local authorities. Examples include development of pedestrian skills training for parents with toddlers, basic road safety training for pre-school staff and developing new resources for parents.
35. The number of children reported to be killed or seriously injured was 3,472 in 2005. This represents a reduction of 49% from the 1994-98 baseline figure of 6,860, well on the way to meeting the 50% target for 2010. TRL predictions to 2010 suggest the number of children who would be killed or seriously injured would fall by 60%.
Figure 1: Killed or seriously injured child casualties: 1994 - 2005
36. The number of children killed or seriously injured (KSI) has been falling since the early 1970s. In 2005 the number of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured was 49% below the 1994-98 baseline, child cyclists 53% below and car passengers 54% below.
37. The number of children killed in road accidents dropped to 141 in 2005 which is 46% below the 1994-98 baseline. This compares with a reduction over the same period of 11% in all deaths from road accidents. The number of child pedestrians and pedal cyclists killed is 53% below the baseline and car passengers 35% below the baseline.
38. The casualty rate amongst children has dropped from 344 casualties per 100,000 children in 2000 to 251 in 2005. By 2005 the casualty rate had dropped to 34% of the 1994-98 baseline of 382 casualties per 100,000 children. The 2005 child casualty rate compared favourably with the all ages rate of 483 per 100,000 people. The child KSI casualty rate fell from 59 per 100,000 children in the 1994-98 baseline to 31 in 2005.
39. This decline in casualties has occurred in the face of increased travel by children. Over the last 10 years, the average distance travelled by a child has increased by about 15%, cycling has decreased (18%), with an increase in walking (5%), bus (7%), and car travel (16%). In 2005 around 80% of the average distance travelled by a child was by car, 10% by bus, 5% on foot and only 1% by pedal cycle.
40. Figure 2 below shows the trends in child casualty rates per billion passenger kilometres travelled. These reflect the changes in the number of casualties against changes in levels of travel. For all accident severities there has been a decline in the rate. The numbers of fatalities per billion passenger kilometres show a greater variation as the numbers are relatively small. By 2005 child casualty rates per billion passenger kilometres were 34% below the 1994-98 baseline.
Figure 2: Child casualty rates per billion passenger kilometres: GB 1994-2005: Index 1994-1998 average = 100
41. Whilst child casualties have been reducing for all age groups, the decline amongst the 11-15 year olds has been much less than that of younger children. This is mainly accounted for by lower drops in the number of pedestrian and cyclist casualties within this age group compared with younger children. 11-15 year olds also have a higher casualty rate, 248 per 100,000 population, almost twice the rate of 0-5 years olds at 121 per 100,000 population.
Figure 3: Child casualties by age group: 1994-2005
Table 1: Child casualties by age group: 1994-2005
42. Over the last 5 years boys accounted for 58% of all child casualties and 65% of all children killed or seriously injured. In the same period boys accounted for 83% of all child cyclist casualties and 60% of all child pedestrian casualties. However girls account for just over half of all child car occupant casualties.
43. Figure 3 shows that pedestrians and car occupants comprise the two largest groups of child casualties, accounting for 40% and 38% of casualties respectively between 2000 and 2005. However pedestrians make up a far larger proportion (61%) of child KSI. In fact during this period, 20% of pedestrian casualties were killed or seriously injured, compared with 14% of cyclist casualties and 5% of other road user casualties.
Figure 4: Child casualties by road user type, all severities and KSI: 2000-2005
44. Bus passengers account for only 4% of all child casualties in 2005, but account for over a third of child casualties who were recorded as being injured on their way to or from school. 75 per cent of child bus casualties were seated at the time of the accident. Only nine per cent were boarding or alighting, with the remaining standing. However, passengers who were injured shortly after leaving a bus will be recorded as pedestrians. The number of bus user casualties has dropped 37% from the 1994-98 baseline, similar to car user casualties which have reduced 30%. However both have reduced at a lower rate than pedestrians and cyclists which have dropped 39% and 45% respectively.
45. Whilst only accounting for 2% of child casualties, the number of child (0-15) moped and motorcycle rider and passenger casualties is a concern as the numbers have increased by 21% since the baseline. The majority of these casualties were aged 13-15. In 2005 there were 432 casualties, of which 239 were riders rather than pillion passengers. Many of the child pillion passenger casualties were with riders who were themselves teenagers. The 1994-98 baseline figure is 357 casualties of which 166 were riders. In 2005 there were 142 child moped and motorcycle rider and passengers killed or seriously injured; of which 84 were riders rather than pillion passengers. The 1994-98 baseline figure is 103 killed or seriously injured of which 55 were riders. The minimum legal age for riding a moped is 16 and for a motorcycle 17 - so all rider casualties up to age 15 are riding illegally. There is no minimum age for a pillion passenger.
Figure 5: Child casualties by road user type: 1994-2005
46. ln 2005 there were 51 children killed in cars of which 4 were drivers (all aged 14 or 15). Around half of children killed in cars were aged 11-15. In 2005 around 90% of child car passenger casualties aged 0-10 were injured in cars with drivers age 20-49. However for the older group (age11-15) this fell to 70% and 16% were with drivers who were themselves teenagers (age 16-19).
Table 2: Percentage of child car passenger casualties by age of driver and age of casualty: GB 2005
| Percentage | Age of Passenger | ||
| Age of Driver | 0-5 | 6- 10 | 11-15 |
| 0 - 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 - 19 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 20 - 29 | 31 | 15 | 11 |
| 30 - 39 | 43 | 48 | 27 |
| 40 - 49 | 14 | 26 | 31 |
| 50 - 59 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| 60 - 69 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 70 - 99 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Age Unknown | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 |
47. In 2005 nearly three quarters (73%) of child casualties occurred in urban areas. This rises to 88% for child pedestrians and 83% for pedal cyclists but only 53% of child car user casualties occur in urban areas. For children killed or seriously injured a similar proportion (74%) occurs in urban areas and the variation by road user type is broadly similar to that for all casualties. However the exception is car users where 71% of KSI casualties occur in rural areas.
Figure 6: Child casualties by Urban / Rural area, and road user type: GB 2005
48. There are substantial regional variations between the casualty rates for children. In 2005 London had the lowest rate at 210 child casualties per 100,000 population, and the North West saw the highest at 344. Between 2000 and 2005, the South East has had a consistently low rate, having the third lowest casualty rate per population in 2005. The North West had the highest rate in every year. During this period London saw the greatest drop, with the child casualty rate falling from 314 casualties per 100,000 child population to 179 (43%) . The smallest drop was in the North East which saw a fall of only 3% from 333 to 290 per 100,000 child population (13%).
Figure 7: Child casualties per 100,000 population: by region and country: 2005
Figure 8: Percentage drop in child casualty rate per 100,000 population between 2000 and 2005: by Government Office Region
49. The Department set a target to achieve a bigger percentage reduction in the number of road deaths and injuries for the 88 local councils that are eligible to receive Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF) than for England as a whole by 2005, compared with the 1999 to 2001 average. In 2005 1,422 children killed or seriously injured were in NRF areas, making up 48% of all England's child KSIs. An estimated 40% of children aged 0-15 live in these areas. 2005 saw all child casualties in the NRF areas reduce by 32% from the 1999/2001 baseline, compared with 30% for England as a whole. Child KSIs in the NRF areas reduced by 33% average, compared with 34% for England as a whole.
Figure 9: Child KSI casualties in NRF 88 areas: 1994-2005
50. In 2005, 16% of all child casualties were recorded as occurring on the school journey. This includes casualties on any part of the whole of the journey to or from school, many of which occur away from the school itself. During peak hours of 7-10 am and 3-6 pm on weekdays the proportion of child KSIs who were on school journeys rises to 23 % (all severities 22%). 62% of child casualties (of all severities) who were on their way to or from school were pedestrians and 18% were car users. However for children killed or seriously injured, 82% were pedestrians and only 6% were car users. 21% of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured were recorded as on a journey to school (25% of all severities) and 50% of child bus or coach users (36% of all severities) are recorded as the same.
Figure 10: Child casualties all severities recorded as on way to or from school by road user type: 2005
51. 80% of child pedestrian KSIs occurred away from pedestrian crossing facilities in 2005, compared with 67% of adults. 28% of these child casualties were masked from the driver's view by a parked or stationary vehicle, 33% were crossing from the driver's nearside and 18% from the driver's offside.
52. Research and other evidence stresses the importance of a holistic approach to road safety and suggests that success in improving safety for children and teenagers is most likely to be achieved through combining measures to address the behaviour of all road users, improving the road environment and designing vehicles that better protect both their occupants and those at risk outside the vehicle.
53. Christie et al. (2004a) present a range of analyses of child road traffic casualties to improve understanding of the relative safety of children in the UK. They report that, using population-based casualty rates for 1996-2000, the UK appears to perform well and is third overall out of 26 countries. However, this rating is strongly influenced by the very good performance of the UK in the area of children as vehicle occupants where the UK is third behind Japan and Switzerland, and disguises the poor performance for pedestrians where the ranking is seventeenth.
54. Christie et al. (2004a) also derived exposure based fatality rates, in terms of fatalities per kilometre travelled, although these could only be calculated for 10-14 year olds in nine countries (Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the USA). Out of the countries for which data are available:
55. In other words, exposure-based fatality rates do not seem to change the picture presented by population-based rates as much as might have been expected.
56. Exposure based rates are also important in helping to assess whether the downward trend in population-based fatality rates is a result of fewer children walking or cycling. Christie et al. (2004a) report that for UK child pedestrians and child cyclists, the number of fatalities per unit of exposure has decreased, suggesting that walking and cycling have both become safer. For child car occupants in the UK, the number of fatalities per unit of exposure has also decreased, suggesting that car occupancy has also become safer.
57. Road Casualties Great Britain 2005 indicates that in 2004 the UK still had one of the worst child (0-14) pedestrian fatality rates amongst European countries, with a rate twice that of the best performing countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. However, there is some evidence that the relative position of the UK is improving. For example, the UK had a lower child pedestrian fatality rate than Belgium in 2003, whereas this was not the case between 1996-2000 (Christie, et al. 2004a).
58. A number of studies have sought to understand more about why the UK's child pedestrian casualty rate remains poor compared to many other European countries. For example, Bly et al. (1999) undertook a comparative study of child pedestrian accidents in Great Britain, France and the Netherlands. Their study combined analysis of accident data, surveys and interviews, as well as detailed on-site assessment of a random selection of walking trips, in order to quantify the distributions of time spent by children near to roads, the number of times they cross the roads, and the numbers of child pedestrian accidents.
59. The study indicated there is very little difference in the total amount of time children spend near roads in the three countries. However, the study found that different distributions of this exposure across different road environments account for perhaps half of the overall difference in casualty rates between the three countries. In particular, children in Britain spend more time near, and undertake more road crossing activity in more major roads, wider roads, roads with higher flows of traffic, and roads with higher traffic speeds, than children in France and the Netherlands. The study indicates that this is largely the result of different land-use and activity patterns in Britain, and their relation to the road hierarchy. This leaves half of the difference in child pedestrian accidents between the UK, France and the Netherlands which is unaccounted for by these factors.
60. A number of studies provide evidence to show that children in the most deprived neighbourhoods are at greatest risk. For example, the report Streets ahead, produced in 2002 by the Institute of Public Policy Research (Grayling et al., 2002), found that children in the ten percent most deprived wards in England were more than three times as likely to be pedestrian casualties as children in the ten percent least deprived wards. The problem is compounded because more people live in deprived wards and children are a larger proportion of the total. More than a quarter of child pedestrian injuries in England in 1999 and 2000 occurred in the ten percent most deprived wards, and almost half occurred in the 20 percent most deprived wards. This is the case for both deaths and serious injuries and for minor injuries.
61. Graham et al. (2005) also report an association between increased deprivation and higher numbers of pedestrian casualties across England. They find the deprivation effect is strong both for all child casualties and for children killed or seriously injured. Estimates for adult casualties also reveal a positive and significant association with increasing deprivation, but the magnitude of the effect is smaller than for children.
62. The most recent data available continue to show significantly higher child road casualties among disadvantaged groups and in disadvantaged areas. Edwards et al. (2006) state that in 2001-2003, compared with children of parents in NS-SEC Class 1, the death rate of children with parents in NS-SEC Class 8 was 20.6 times higher for deaths as pedestrians, 5.5 times higher for deaths as car occupants, and 27.5 times higher for deaths as cyclists. National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) Class 1 represents higher managerial and professional occupations and Class 8 those who have never worked and the long-term unemployed.
63. A four year evaluation of the Kerbcraft child pedestrian training national pilot (see below) has been conducted, jointly funded by the Department for Transport and the Scottish Executive. The results confirm and reinforce the positive behavioural impact of practical roadside training for children as young as 5 years old (Whelan and Towner, 2006). For example, children trained following the Kerbcraft approach show consistent and significant improvements in finding safe places to cross. Trained children show safer road crossing behaviour from between parked cars, and are significantly better at avoiding obstructions at junctions, i.e., they move away to a safer place.
64. As the study sample was drawn from 28 schools in deprived areas across England with varying social backgrounds and road environments, the results also confirm the robust nature of the Kerbcraft model, even when being delivered in a wide variety of different circumstances. Since children who received three training sessions or less showed significantly poorer performance on some skills, the results reinforce DfT's recommendation that children receive at least four training sessions for each Kerbcraft skill to maximise the improvements in behaviour at the roadside.
65. The European Commission project ROSE 25 documented and assessed good practice in road safety education (RSE) targeted at young people in all EU member states. The final report (European Commission, 2005a) found that responsibility for road safety education, training and publicity seldom lies clearly in the hands of one body, and that several institutions and organisations are usually involved, both at national and local level.
66. The study reported that RSE often lacks coordination between institutions, and that lack of or insufficient coordination results in serious losses in efficiency. The final report stresses the importance of effective two-way communication between national RSE agencies and other stakeholders at regional and local levels. At local level, the study found that effective coordination between schools, police and local authorities is a key success factor in RSE delivery. In relation to schools, the study recommended nomination of a RSE contact teacher within each school to coordinate RSE and actively assist local coordination. Research and information on new resources could also be channelled through a network of such teachers.
67. Christie et al. (2004a) note that the UK is unusual in not having compulsory road safety education in schools. They state that making school travel and safety a more formal part of the educational process could be much more powerful than relying on voluntary uptake, which is known to be difficult to encourage, especially among socially disadvantaged groups. The ROSE 25 report (European Commission, 2005a) recommends a minimum of 10 hours of RSE in school per year, noting that this would allow the implementation of two substantial RSE packages per year. The study recommends RSE should be based on core elements, which are packages or programmes providing transfer of life skills for pedestrians, cyclists, moped users and pre-drivers.
68. The ROSE 25 report notes that RSE is often insufficiently covered by evaluation and quality control. The final report recommends that evaluation should be part of RSE interventions from the very start, and that funding for evaluation should be an integral part of RSE interventions.
69. In relation to child pedestrian safety, the ROSE 25 report states that practical skills training in a realistic setting is a key ingredient for success. The study recommends that parents should be actively involved in RSE at school, and highlights several approaches which strive for a partnership between schools and parents in terms of child pedestrian safety.
70. This broad approach is also reflected in the recommendations of other studies. Christie et al. (2004a) highlight a number of approaches to safety, which are shared by top performing countries, such as teaching pedestrian skills at the roadside, in playgrounds or traffic parks, and providing materials and advice for parents. Christie et al. also note participant approaches which are being utilised in some top performing countries, where children are consulted about traffic safety or are encouraged to research and learn about traffic themselves. For example, in Norway some schools allow children to go out and count the number of cyclists wearing a helmet and car occupants using seat belts.
71. The OECD (2004) report, Keeping children safe in traffic, identifies the following examples of best practice in relation to road safety education, training and publicity:
72. What is evident here is the importance of targeting and changing drivers' attitudes in order to achieve road safety improvements for children and teenagers. The OECD report emphasises that the focus of responsibility for child road safety needs to be shifted more towards drivers.
73. The OECD (2004) report, Keeping children safe in traffic, states that helping children and other road users to adapt their behaviour in order to interact safely with traffic in the road environment is only part of what is needed to keep children safe. Traffic engineers, urban designers and planners have a duty to design systems that take account of children's mobility needs, travel behaviour and differences in perceptual and reactive capabilities in order to maximise their safety and mobility.
74. Christie et al. (2004a) state that in relation to children as pedestrians, the top performing countries are Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany and Denmark. In contrast to other countries, the majority of these countries:
75. The SUNflower+6 extended study (European Commission, 2005b) reviewed the development of road safety in Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The final report highlights the need for major initiatives to modify urban road layouts, noting that vulnerable road user casualty rates are unlikely to fall substantially without these, unless exposure is reduced through less activity.
76. The OECD (2004) report identifies the following examples of best practice which distinguish the top-performing countries from those that did less well in terms of children's road safety:
77. Bly et al. (1999) highlighted that the use of special measures to slow traffic including formal traffic calming is very prevalent in the Netherlands, and noted that the special measures in place are associated with substantially lower levels of risk than in either Britain or France. The SUNflower+6 extended study (European Commission, 2005b) indicates that the Netherlands has been particularly successful over the last two decades in improving the safety of vulnerable road users through physical treatment of 60 km/h roads and the extensive introduction of 30 km/h zones. The report specifically recommends that Britain should:
78. These recommendations are consistent with the findings from IPPR's Street ahead study (Grayling et al., 2002). The principal recommendation from the study is that traffic calmed 20 mph zones should become the norm in residential areas, and that deprived areas with high casualty rates should be prioritised.
79. There is robust UK evaluation evidence in relation to these key measures. For example, in a comprehensive study, Webster and Mackie (1996) reviewed the effectiveness of traffic calming in 20mph zones. Across 72 such zones, they found that the number of accidents reduced by about 60 per cent on average and vehicle speeds by over 9 mph. Child pedestrian accidents were reduced by an average of 70 percent.
80. Where infrastructure improvements are possible in relation to children's road safety this will benefit all road users, since what constitutes a safe road environment for children will usually be safer for the general public, and in particular older road users (OECD, 2004).
81. The research appears to show that what is required in terms of physical infrastructure is relatively well understood. However, a more widespread approach to modifying the environment is required in the UK to improve the safety of children as pedestrians or cyclists, and barriers to implementation need to be overcome (Christie et al., 2004a).
82. The Local Transport Plan (LTP) process is now the primary means through which local authorities plan and implement safer infrastructure, and this is being evaluated on behalf of DfT by a consortium led by Atkins Transport Planning, also including the Local Government Centre at Warwick Business School and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
83. Overall, the final report from the first stage of this long term evaluation (Atkins Transport Planning, 2003) finds that the introduction of LTPs has been strongly supported by local authorities in England as a major step forward from the previous Transport Policies and Programme (TPP) process. However, whilst authorities are making good progress in delivering their LTP programmes, there is increasing realism over the challenges of delivery relative to high expectations when LTPs were first introduced. Many authorities are experiencing substantial underspends in some of their LTP budgets and lack of delivery is a major concern. Staff shortages and lack of revenue funding are seen as the most pressing barriers, with staff and skills shortages seen as a major barrier to LTP development and delivery by almost all authorities.
84. Specifically in relation to road safety, more recent findings (Atkins Transport Planning, 2006) indicate that virtually all LTPs include the national road safety target, but very few authorities have adapted the target to reflect local circumstances. The evaluation reports that in 2004/05, 50 out of 85 authorities were on track to meet their KSI targets, and 65 authorities were on track to meet their child KSI targets.
85. The evaluation has also found that Road Safety and Traffic Management were the main areas of expenditure during LTP1. However, authorities are now spending a smaller proportion of LTP capital on safety schemes. Expenditure on safety schemes increased by 27 percent between 2001/02 and 2004/05, compared to an overall increase in expenditure of 63 percent.
86. There is also some external research on the LTP process. For example, Grayling et al. (2002) reviewed the Local Transport Plans of all 85 top-tier county and unitary district councils in England outside London, in order to understand their road casualty reduction, traffic calming and speed management policies. They also sent out a survey to all 171 unitary and county councils in England and Wales to determine the location of all planned and implemented 20mph zones, since these measures are particularly effective in reducing child pedestrian casualties. Eight out of ten local authorities that responded had implemented traffic-calmed 20mph zones, an average of seven each for those with zones. Most planned to introduce further zones. Of the authorities without 20mph zones implemented, 14 planned to introduce them and ten had no plans to do so. Accident record and local demand were the most important factors determining the location of zones. Proximity to schools was also a common feature.
87. Christie et al. (2004a) state that clearer guidelines are needed for implementing low speed limits near schools and in identifying these areas as enforcement zones.
88. The SUNflower+6 extended study report (European Commission, 2005b) recommends that the latest UK policy statements on enforcement promising greater visible presence are accompanied by sufficient resources to achieve this. The report recommends that senior police managers demonstrate a genuine commitment to road safety by maintaining an appropriate level of traffic policing. The study specifically recommends that the UK increases the real level of detection of drink drive offences to the perceived level. In relation to speeding offences, the report suggests that the balance between enforcement and public awareness might be improved. Although these recommendations are not specific to the road safety of children and teenagers, these issues need to be addressed in order to secure benefits for these groups.
89. OECD (2004) states that the most important measure to protect child occupants of vehicles is the provision and use of suitable child safety restraint systems. Best practice includes:
90. Christie et al. (2004a) state that in relation to children as vehicle occupants, the United Kingdom is one of the top performers, as well as Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. In contrast to other countries, the majority of these countries:
91. The evidence suggests that combined interventions are effective in improving child passenger restraint use. The recommended interventions include community-wide information and enforcement campaigns, built around the active participation of public safety officials and safety-oriented voluntary organisations (OECD, 2004).
92. In relation to vehicle design, best practices and possible improvements include:
93. It is reasonably clear from existing research what works in relation to many aspects of road safety education, infrastructure improvement and enforcement. A key question and therefore a principal focus of future research and evaluation should be delivery and how to support this, and understanding and finding ways to overcome the barriers.
94. Research and other evidence demonstrates that road safety policy and delivery needs to be holistic, combining measures to improve road safety education and training, providing safer infrastructure, enforcement, and improving in-car safety and vehicle design. The OECD (2004) report, Keeping children safe in traffic, provides a comprehensive account of the policies and practice required to continue to improve the road safety of children and teenagers. Key recommendations include:
95. More than a quarter of child pedestrian injuries in England in 1999 and 2000 occurred in the ten percent most deprived wards, and almost half occurred in the 20 percent most deprived wards (Grayling et al., 2002). Since there may be resource and capacity issues constraining delivery of infrastructure improvements such as 20mph zones in all areas, the evidence suggests that more effective targeting of resources in disadvantaged areas would be effective in improving the overall road safety of children and teenagers.
96. The evidence also indicates that most road traffic accidents with child casualties occur on local roads, and so local authorities are principally responsible for the delivery of measures to improve safety. National road safety policy therefore needs to ensure effective support for local agencies, and greater emphasis on effective partnership working.
97. There is a strong argument for strengthening public and wider stakeholder participation in road safety policy development and implementation. The SUNflower+6 extended study report (European Commission, 2005b) highlights the importance of strong and accountable links between central governments and local authorities, and increasing public participation in policy definition in order to deliver efficient and effective safety measures that are seen as fair by the majority of road users. The OECD (2004) report also recommends that the whole community, including children, is consulted and involved in traffic planning and decision making, to ensure that the activities and travel needs of all are fully taken into account.
Atkins Transport Planning (2003). Local transport plans - Policy evaluation: Part 1. Department for Transport, London
Atkins Transport Planning (2006). Long-term process and impact evaluation of the Local Transport Plan policy: what do the 2005 Annual Progress Reports tell us? Slides presented to the LTP evaluation Steering Group, 2nd March
Bly P, Dix M and Stephenson C (1999). Comparative study of European child pedestrian exposure and accidents. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, London
Christie N, Cairns S, Ward H and Towner E (2004a). Children's traffic safety: international lessons for the UK. Road Safety Research Report No 50. Department for Transport, London
Christie N, Towner E, Cairns S and Ward H (2004b). Children's road traffic safety: an international survey of policy and practice. Road Safety Research Report No 47. Department for Transport, London
Edwards P, Green J, Roberts I and Lutchmun S (2006). Deaths from injury in children and employment status in family: analysis of trends in class specific death rates. British Medical Journal 333, 119-
European Commission (2005a). ROSE 25 - Inventory and compiling of a European Good Practice Guide on road safety education targeted at young people. Final report. European Commission, Brussels
European Commission (2005b). SUNflower+6: an extended study of the development of road safety in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. TRL, Wokingham
Graham D, Glaister S and Anderson R (2005). The effects of area deprivation on the incidence of child and adult pedestrian casualties. Accident Analysis and Prevention 37, 125-135
Grayling T, Hallam K, Graham D, Anderson R and Glaister S (2002). Streets ahead: safe and liveable streets for children. Institute for Public Policy Research, London
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2004). Keeping children safe in traffic. OECD, Paris
Webster D and Mackie A (1996). Review of traffic calming schemes in 20mph zones. TRL Report 215. TRL, Crowthorne
Whelan K and Towner E (2006). Evaluation of UK National Network of Child Pedestrian Training Pilot: Impact of practical roadside training on children's skill development. Poster presented at the European Association for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion First European conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 25-27 June, Vienna
98. Education is the main way of getting road safety messages to children. A large part of this is through schools, where road safety is part of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum and can also be integrated into citizenship and a number of other mainstream subjects. Schools can also provide children with specific road safety training, for example the Kerbcraft pedestrian training scheme. Cycle training has also been identified as being an ideal activity for school after hours clubs. But road safety education is not limited to schools, or to children.
99. Parents also have a very important role in educating and setting a good example for their children, so we need to make sure parents are properly informed. This starts before children are at school and continues into early adulthood. Educational materials for use by parents with their children are available, but they also have an important influence through their own behaviour as pedestrians and drivers or riders.
100. We should make the most of opportunities to get road safety messages across to children and parents at regular points of contact such as doctors' or dentists' surgeries, or other contacts with health and social services, as well as through schools. Other organisations that are involved with children, such as youth clubs, sports clubs or other activities or community groups, can also play a part in educating children about road safety. There may be different issues in rural areas, both in terms of access to road safety information and also in the content of the messages, as there is a much higher proportion of car occupant casualties in rural areas.
101. Children are already thinking about becoming users of cars, mopeds and motorcycles long before they can legally do so, so we need to ensure that their education prepares them to become safe drivers and riders once they are old enough. Whilst our casualty reduction target for children covers those up to age 15, we should not forget about the importance of road safety for teenagers of 16 and above. Young drivers or riders of 17 or more often travel with younger passengers. Adult drivers and riders also need be made aware of child road safety as part of their own training.
102. The Think! publicity campaign is a key element of the Department's efforts to improve road safety. With separate approaches for young children, teenagers and parents, teachers a large part of the campaign is aimed at improving child road safety. It includes everything from large scale advertising campaigns to dedicated online approaches such as the children's hedgehog road safety website, http://www.hedgehogs.gov.uk and resources for teachers, road safety officers and others. Local authorities and voluntary road safety bodies such as RoSPA, Brake and CAPT also carry out road safety publicity campaigns, as do some commercial organisations. We need to ensure that publicity is directed at the highest priority groups, in a way that gets across to them effectively.
103. The physical road environment has a major effect in preventing accidents and making those that do happen less serious. Engineering measures have played a major role in casualty reduction, by making roads safer. We need to continue these efforts and focus on measures that make roads safer for children, by identifying and applying best practice in planning, design, implementation, evaluation, monitoring and auditing of engineering measures. DfT provides a wide range of guidance to local highway authorities on speed limits, traffic management and traffic calming aimed at improving the safety of vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians. Partnerships between different bodies such as local authorities, police and schools can also help to improve the road environment, for example by developing safer routes to school. Child road safety also needs to be taken into account when planning new facilities and the routes to them, such as the location of new schools, hospitals, leisure facilities or new roads.
104. Vehicles can be designed to include features that help to prevent accidents and to protect people involved when accidents do occur. The design of cars and other vehicles should aim to reduce the risk of an accident happening and to minimise injuries both to occupants of vehicles and to other road users including pedestrians and cyclists in the event of an accident. This includes improving vehicle equipment such as tyres and brakes to help prevent accidents, as well as new primary safety technologies such as Electronic Stability Control. Safety equipment such as seat belts and other child restraints, and cycle helmets, can also help to protect vehicle occupants and cyclists from injury. Measures to improve visibility, such as vehicle (including cycle) lighting and high visibility clothing for cyclists and pedestrians can also help to reduce the risk of accidents.
105. Legislation requires road users to behave in a way which improves road safety, for example through having to pass a driving test, wear seat belts or other child restraints, use lights at night and obey speed limits. Effective enforcement is needed to make legislation effective and the police have a leading role in enforcement. The Roads Policing Strategy was jointly agreed by the Police, Home Office and DfT in January 2005. This sets out roads policing priorities and operational enforcement practice. Publicity to inform the public about new or existing legislation is also important in encouraging compliance.
106. Around one sixth of child road casualties are recorded as happening on the journey to or from school, so this is an important area to focus on. Child pedestrian accidents often happen close to home as well as near schools, so work to improve the safety of school journeys needs to focus on the whole route, not just the area around the school.
107. School travel is also receiving much attention because of its links to policies relating to reducing congestion and pollution, by promotion of cycling, walking or using public transport for journeys to and from school. Promotion of cycling and walking, including on school journeys, is also linked to policies to improve children's health. Road safety activities need to be fully integrated into other school travel policies. Care needs to be taken to avoid giving mixed messages regarding travel advice, especially in many rural schools, as it may not always be safer to walk or cycle than to come by car.
108. The strategy outlines 21 specific actions under these thematic headings, but there are some wider issues that affect them all. These will also need to be considered when it comes to taking forward the actions.
109. In recent years there has been much activity, especially at local level, focussed around regenerating deprived areas. This is mainly about improving the local economy and environment and not specifically related to road safety. We know that deprived areas generally have a poorer road safety record, which is why we introduced a separate target to reduce casualties faster in deprived areas. There are a number of reasons for this, including the wider environmental and economic conditions. So these other regeneration activities can also help to meet road safety targets. There are clear benefits to be had by bringing together the implementation of regeneration and road safety activities and from co-operation between the different bodies involved in delivering them at local level. The Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative (NRSI - see below) shows a number of examples of this.
110. NRSI also provides examples of how partnership working can benefit the delivery of road safety initiatives and also wider social and environmental improvements. This applies in all parts of the country, not just deprived areas and at national as well as local level. It includes co-operation between different parts of local authorities, as more can be done where road safety officers, highway engineers, education departments and those involved in wider social, environmental and economic issues work together and build on their common interests. There is also much to be gained by co-ordination of initiatives by local authorities, police, fire and health services, especially as road safety measures can contribute to other wider objectives like improving health or reducing crime. Community involvement has also been shown to help with the implementation and sustainability of road safety measures, including residents' groups and partnerships with voluntary, faith and commercial bodies.
111. DfT spends money on publicity and educational resources - which are generally freely available to others to use - and on our road safety research programme. DfT's small grants fund supports range of innovative small scale road safety initiatives by voluntary groups. The Highways Agency, which is an executive agency of DfT, funds improvements to and maintenance of the trunk road network in England. However, most road safety activities are undertaken by local authorities. Capital spending on local transport, including road safety measures, is funded through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) system. Revenue spending on education and publicity is met from local authorities' own resources, including general revenue support from central Government, council tax and other local charges such as parking fees.
112. From April 2007, we are providing a new element of revenue funding through the LTP system for road safety measures, to replace the previous safety camera funding arrangements (see paragraph 168 below). We have also introduced a new £4 million road safety partnership grant for local authorities. We invited bids from all local highway authorities in England by 2 January 2007, with successful applicants notified by the end of March 2007. Details of allocated grants will be posted on the DfT website. It is expected that around 20 bids will be supported during its first year, 2007/08. The Road Safety Partnership Grant scheme is intended to promote:
113. Other sources can also be used to fund road safety schemes. For example, a number of local authorities have made use of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund for various road safety measures. Funding for some specific schemes in deprived areas has also come from the New Deal for Communities, the Community Regeneration Fund and the Performance Reward Grant.
114. Our overall target is to reduce fatal and serious injuries for all children in Great Britain aged 0-15 by 50% by 2010. By 2005, fatal and serious child casualties had reduced by 49% below the 1994-98 baseline. However, there was variation within that overall target and some areas are greater priorities for further action than others. We need to look at the most common types of casualty and also where casualties have not reduced as much as for other groups.
115. Casualties in the 11-15 age group have fallen by less than for younger children, so teenagers are a priority. At all ages, boys are generally more involved than girls. Child pedestrians are a particular priority, as they account for most fatal and serious casualties. There is also a significant number of child car occupant casualties, though a smaller proportion of these are fatal or serious. We are actively encouraging more children to cycle, to encourage improved health and fitness, so need to take account of their safety.
116. Relatively few child casualties are bus occupants, but there has been a slower rate of casualty reduction than for pedestrians, cyclists or car passengers. Even fewer (mainly older) children are injured on mopeds or motorcycles, as both passengers and riders, but this is the only casualty group to have seen an increase in casualties from the 1994-98 baseline.
117. Disadvantaged areas still have a higher casualty rates than elsewhere, including child casualties. Some road safety activities, such as NRSI and the Kerbcraft child pedestrian training scheme have been focused on disadvantaged areas and that focus will need to continue. More generally, urban areas and rural areas have different circumstances that require different approaches. We also need to consider the different circumstances of children in different social and ethnic groups and children with disabilities, or whose parents or carers have disabilities.
118. In order to improve child road safety, we also need to target people and groups other than children themselves. Parents and guardians are the primary source for educating and influencing children in their everyday activities - including using the roads. They set an example for their children in their own behaviour when crossing roads or travelling in cars. Children are also influenced in their behaviour by their friends and peers. Teachers and schools are also important in providing road safety messages to children and more generally influencing their behaviour for example on school journeys.
119. Other bodies can have a similar role in the care and wider education of children, for example health care and social welfare professionals and organisers of out-of-school activities or youth groups. Local authorities and the police also have significant responsibilities for improving child road safety, while the fire and rescue service also plays a part, especially in education and training.
120. All car drivers and other road users also have a responsibility to take account of the presence of children on the roads. The vehicle industry can also help to improve child road safety through the design of cars and safety equipment. A number of companies also actively promote road safety programmes.
121. This section outlines what the Department for Transport is doing to improve child safety and to deliver the 2010 casualty reduction target. It describes some other examples of good practice being taken forward by local authorities and others, looking at activities related to each of the themes in the previous section.
122. The action points mentioned in this section show where the Department intends to take forward further work. They are summarised in the action plan at the start of this Strategy. Some of the activities are aimed at particular target groups (e.g. teenagers, parents), while many will benefit all children and some will affect all road users.
123. A key element of the Department's work to promote road safety with primary school children is the Kerbcraft Child Pedestrian Training Project. Trained local volunteers, mostly parents, train small groups of 5-7 year olds at the roadside. Kerbcraft covers three basic skills: finding safe places, crossing between parked cars and crossing near junctions. This is much more effective than training that takes place off-road or in simulated environments.
124. DfT has provided up to £9 million from 2002 to 2007 for a national pilot programme of Kerbcraft schemes. Over 100 pilot schemes have been established in local authorities across England, each with a dedicated co-ordinator. All have been established in areas of social deprivation, because child pedestrian casualties have shown to be at a higher level in such areas. There are three tranches of schemes, each comprising a number of schemes around the country, running at the same time and each lasting three years. Tranche one ended in spring 2005, tranche two ended in spring 2006 and tranche three schemes end in Spring 2007.
125. A Resource Pack for Kerbcraft volunteer training has been developed by MVA, who have administered the Kerbcraft scheme for the Department. It provides reference material for Kerbcraft co-ordinators, reinforcing the key objectives and methods for training each of the Kerbcraft skills at the roadside and complements the training video.
126. Evaluation of the Kerbcraft pilot is under way and reports when the scheme ends in spring 2007. So far there have been positive results, with trained children performing significantly better than untrained children. Research to identify why children in the lowest socio-economic group are more likely to die in a pedestrian road accident than children in the highest social class is also part of the evaluation.
127. In September 2005 DfT wrote to all local highway authorities, asking those taking part on the Kerbcraft pilot to consider continuing Kerbcraft or expanding it to new areas in their authority once current pilot schemes end. Other authorities were asked to consider introducing Kerbcraft and some are now doing so, for example Merton, Daventry and Northants Primary Care Trust.
128. Most authorities who had tranche one Kerbcraft schemes have continued with some form of practical roadside child pedestrian training or are planning to do so. However, most of these have made modifications and are not continuing with Kerbcraft itself. The Kerbcraft evaluation will also look at what authorities have done once the pilot and DfT funding have ended and how these modifications affect the quality of the training. Once the evaluation is complete and the pilots come to an end in Spring 2007, we will put in place a dissemination strategy to inform local authorities of the outcome and provide information to those continuing or establishing Kerbcraft schemes.
| ACTION 1 - DfT encourages wider use of Kerbcraft and similar measures and will do more to encourage wider take-up following the evaluation of the pilot schemes. We will put in place a dissemination strategy to encourage local authorities in continuing to provide Kerbcraft training. |
| The Crossroads CD Rom, providing computer-based pedestrian training for 7-10 year olds, was launched in spring 2005. It has been marketed as following on from Kerbcraft, though it can be used independently. The designated crossings programme is incorporated into the Crossroads CD. Like Kerbcraft, success depends on the involvement of trained adults. |
129. The Children's Traffic Club (CTC) is aimed at pre-school children and provides a structured programme for parents and carers to engage three to five year olds in fun and interactive ways, teaching them how to stay safe walking, playing, travelling in cars and on buses. It is backed by research into developmental psychology, which documents that personality traits and life long habits are set by the age of five. It has been running free to all three year olds in Scotland since 1995. Many areas throughout England have been using it in a variety of ways. In Wales it is available in all counties bilingually and has also been running across London since 2003. The scheme aims to:
130. CTC works in partnership with local authorities and health authorities, who provide the materials free to parents. In participating areas, every three year old is invited to join the Club around their third birthday, via the health authority, using their protected GP data. Once registered, the child receives one book pack every three months, sent directly to their home. The books are full of pictures, stories and fun activities, carefully structured for the child's emotional and intellectual development. Characters within the books represent the main ethnic groupings. The stories cover all socio-economic groups, as well as rural and urban environments. All the relevant safety messages are reinforced by engaging balloon characters. To increase effectiveness, parental information is kept to the vocabulary level of 9 year olds - the national reading age for adults.
131. Working in partnership with Sure Starts and in association with Early Years Establishments an Early Step Resource Pack has been developed as an extension to the core Club material, to help tackle the problem that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are up to five times more likely to be killed or injured in a road accident than their peers from more affluent areas. A specially adapted version of CTC has been created by the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative (NRSI - see below) in Salford, working with DBDA, the publishers of CTC. The material has been simplified to the reading age of five and is more pictorial for individuals who have literacy difficulties or for whom English may not be their first language. Key road safety messages are available in CTC material in the 22 main languages in the UK (the top five for each London borough).
132. Partnerships play a key role and partners support the CTC core material but also actively use specific Children's Traffic Club material designed for them. Partners include:
| The A-Z of Traffic Tales was launched across London in September |