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Schools across the UK take part in Brake's
Kids Walk – photo and filming opportunities
available
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Charity highlights extent of road danger
for children – 39 children killed or injured on roads in
England every day
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South East has greatest number of child
road casualties (2,343 a year) – data available by region and
local authority area
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Nottinghamshire school walks in memory of
boy, 10, who was killed outside school
More than 100,000 kids from across the UK will take to their
streets today (Wednesday 13 June) to raise awareness of the 39
children who are killed or injured on roads in England every
day.
Youngsters aged between four and 11 are taking
part in Brake’s Kids Walk, in partnership with Co-op Insurance.
This national project is helping them call for key measures to
make roads safer, so that more children can enjoy the health and
planet-saving benefits of walking.
To coincide with the launch of the walk, road
safety charity Brake has highlighted the true extent of child
casualties on the nation's roads.
Latest Department for Transport (DfT)
figures1 show that 14,273 children were
killed or injured on roads in England in 2016. On average, 39
children die or suffer injuries as a result of road crashes every
single day. That’s the equivalent of a classroom full every
day.
The South East has the greatest number of child road casualties
(2,343 a year), while the North East has the fewest (702 a year).
The region that sees the most child road deaths is the North
West, with 15 children killed on the region’s roads in 2016.
More than 100,000 children from more than 500 schools and
nurseries are taking part in Brake’s Kids Walk, calling for
five key measures to help keep them safe: footpaths, cycle paths,
safe places to cross, slow traffic and clean traffic.
Among those taking part are 450 pupils from
Carr Hill Primary School in Retford, Nottinghamshire. The school
is running a week of road safety activities in memory of pupil
Seth Bartle, 10, who died after he was hit by a car outside the
school in January. The school
is encouraging more families to walk to school, to
ease congestion and parking issues at the school gate. And to
assist those families who drive, pupils have created a map
showing walking routes from roads further away from the
school.
Short, supervised walks are taking place today
and all week at or around schools and nurseries. Children will
walk in a crocodile formation and hold hands to highlight the
importance of being able to walk without fear or threat from
traffic. Some schools are teaming up with their local fire
service or police.
Schools can also run special road safety-themed
assemblies, lessons and activities, using resources provided for
free by Brake and Co-op Insurance. The event can be used to
fundraise for Brake, which supports families who have lost loved
ones in road crashes.
Dave Nichols, community engagement manager
for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “It
is every child's right to be able to walk in their community
without fear of traffic and pollution. But many kids are unable
to do so because they don’t have access to simple measures such
as footpaths, cycle paths and safe places to cross. Many more
have to contend with fast traffic and pollution from vehicle
emissions. If we want more children and their families to walk,
then we need to make sure their journeys are safe. We’re
delighted that so many schools and children across the UK agree
with us on this and are taking part in Brake’s Kids Walk.
Together we can raise awareness about the issues that matter to
them and help make their roads safer.”
Nick Ansley, head of motor insurance at the
Co-op said: “To see so many children taking part in
this event, and promoting road safety is fantastic. Our aim is to
help keep communities safe and so it’s great to be involved in an
initiative which is doing just that.
“Every school across the UK faces different issues, whether it be
available footpaths, safe places to cross, or cycle paths. In
partnership with Brake, we’re hoping to raise awareness among all
road users to help ensure communities are kept safe.”
Vanessa Smith, parent link teacher at Carr Hill
Primary School in Retford, said: “While we
encourage people to walk to school, many of our families do live
some distance away and so our emphasis is on safe and considerate
parking outside the school, encouraging people to think about
moral responsibility to each other and the children at
dropping-off and picking-up time. We are asking people to
walk where they can or, if they must drive, then to park a little
further away and increase their footsteps. We hope the
pupils will go home and encourage their grown-ups to park further
away then walk.”
Stella Scharinger, headteacher at Finberry Primary
School in Kent, said: “We are really
looking forward to taking part in Brake's Kids Walk as we
passionately support the drive to ensure that all children can
walk and travel in safety, with safe roads and footpaths in every
community.”
Iris Smith, high-level
teaching assistant at Penshurst Primary School in Hessle, Hull,
said: “At Penshurst we are committed
to keeping our children safe on the roads. We feel that taking
part in this walk will highlight the dangers around our school
and hope this will make others aware of the situation and be more
considerate on the road in the future to protect our
children.”
Rachel Dungate, sustainability
coordinator at The Woodside Academy in Croydon, London,
said: “Children and staff can't wait
to get walking. Each class is aiming to walk a marathon between
them. It is great to encourage the children to be active and to
support a fantastic charity too. It gives us the opportunity to
learn not only about the benefits of being active but about road
safety as well.”
Notes to editors
[1] ras30039, Reported child
casualties by severity, region and local authority, England,
2016, Department for Transport, 2017
Region 2016
North East
702
North West
1,988
Yorkshire and The Humber 1,719
East Midlands
1,199
West
Midlands
1,598
East of
England
1,437
London
2,063
South East
2,343
South
West
1,224_
England
(total)
14,273
