A new guide to help keep children safe on the roads when travelling to and from school has been launched.
Safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) was commissioned by Public Health England to produce the document, which aims to help schools promote safe active travel for children to and from school.
The guide, titled Road Injury Prevention: Resources to Support Schools to Promote Safe Active Travel, was launched during the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accident’s (RoSPA) Road Safety Conference on March 2nd 2016.
It provides advice and information for teaching staff, parents and carers highlighting the importance of supporting effective road safety education as well as sharing steps that some schools have taken to promote safe active travel.
The number of child road deaths and serious injury in England rose from 1,732 in 2013 to 1,782 in 2014.
Nick Lloyd, RoSPA’s road safety manager, said: “Road collisions remain one of the main causes of premature death amongst children and young people aged 0 -15, which is why it is important that we highlight the issue in order for schools to contribute to road injury prevention and help save lives. This document is a useful guide for people working in education enabling them to help reduce road accidents involving children by teaching them how to cope with the traffic environment.”
Eustace de Sousa, national lead for children, young people and families, Public Health England, said: “We’re delighted to work with RoSPA on this important piece of work to help raise awareness of the risks of road accidents in young people as they travel to and from school. We remain committed to working with local authorities and educational professionals to stop the number deaths from road collisions amongst young people from increasing. By taking this important data and guidance in consideration, we can help reduce preventable deaths in the 0-15 age group.”
Road Injury Prevention: Resources to Support Schools to Promote Safe Active Travel, can be seen here.
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