Why road safety matters
Around 1,400 children aged 0–11 are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads every year. That’s almost 27 children every week.
This booklet has a simple purpose: to reduce those figures by helping you to keep your children safe.
Your child is currently learning about road safety at school but as a parent or carer you also play a big part in helping him or her to learn how to stay safe. Children 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 safe is to set a good example when using roads, on foot in the car.
This booklet will also help you to teach your child how to be a safe pedestrian, about the importance of the Green Cross Code and how to stay safe when cycling and riding in a car. In addition it contains guidance on how children can ‘Be Bright, Be Seen’ and the law relating to child car seats and safety 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
- Children are more likely to die in a road collision than from any other accidental cause.
- In comparison with other countries, Britain’s overall road safety record for children is very good, and its rate for child fatalities is well below the European average. While our record on child pedestrian fatalities is improving, it does not compare so well with many other European countries
