Why road safety matters
Around 1,400 children aged 0–11 are killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads every year. That's around 27 children a week.
This information in this section has a simple purpose: to help you to keep your children safer.
Your child is currently learning about road safety at school but as a parent or carer you also play a big part in helping your child to learn how to stay safer. Children will copy adults' behaviour, so if they see you taking risks they will probably take risks too. One of the best ways that you can help your child to stay safer is to set a good example when using roads, on foot, when cycling and in the car.
This booklet will also help you to teach your child how to be a safer pedestrian, about the importance of 'stop, look and listen' and the Green Cross Code and how to stay safer when riding in a car or cycling. In addition it contains guidance on how children can 'Be Bright, Be Seen' and the law relating to car seats and seat belts.
Still not sure that road safety matters?
- Research shows that young children can't judge how fast vehicles are going or how far away they are.
- The number of road-related deaths among children aged 5-7 is small (9 in 2010), but a significant number are seriously injured (364 in 2010), and this is the perfect age to establish good road safety habits which will stand children in good stead as they grow up.
- In comparison with other countries, Britain's overall road safety record for children is on the whole very good, and its rate for child fatalities is well below the European average. But our record on child pedestrian fatalities remains less good than many European countries, though improving rapidly.
