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This year is all about children having their say. Kids have strong opinions about how safe our roads are and how adults should drive. It’s not surprising, because negotiating roads is something that many kids have to do every day. Walking and cycling is so good for children’s health and development, but it’s difficult for them to do this safely with so many people driving too fast on roads where they live, near local shops and on their route to school.Ìý

As part of Road Safety Week, we asked more than 15,000 9-13 year old children their thoughts about speed. A huge majority, 86%, said they thought drivers go too fast in their neighbourhood. ÌýHence our theme for Road Safety Week this year is ‘Kids Say SLOW DOWN!’

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The sad fact is that too many every year.ÌýÌý10% of the surveyed children said that had already been hit by a vehicle when walking or cycling, and a further 56% said they had had a near miss. That’s a lot of children.

Thankfully, not every one of these incidents results in death or life-changing injury, but far too many do. In 2009, 12 children were killed or serious injured every day. Most of these (59%) were children on foot and bicycle.

In fact, although the UK has the second lowest road death rate in the EU, our child pedestrian death rate is worse than 10 other EU countries, and eight times higher than Sweden’s. are also by far the biggest non-medical killer of children in this country. In short, road safety is a very big deal for children.

Most parents with children old enough to walk and cycle unaccompanied, will no doubt worry about their children’s safety, and will probably have taught and implored their children to take care using roads. But even if we teach children to use roads safely, their age will still affect their ability to make sound judgements. It’s important to bear in mind, therefore, that there are ways we can stick up for children and make roads safer for them.Ìý

Research shows that reduce child casualties by more than 50% Ìýamong 0-15 year olds, according to a recent report by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine This is because slower speeds give drivers time to react and hopefully stop altogether if a child mistakenly steps into the road. Driving at 20mph, you should be able to stop in time if a child runs out three car lengths ahead. At 30mph, you would barely have time to brake at all before hitting that child at 27mph.Ìý

The government is being called on to reduce the default urban limit to 20mph to save kids’ lives. Kids will be kids and they will make mistakes from time to time. It’s important that they don’t pay for those mistakes with their life.Ìý

Ellen Booth is Campaigns Officer for the road safety charity .

Find out more about .

Check out the Department for Transport website –

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