More than 63,000 kids took to the streets in June to raise awareness of the need for safer journeys as 45 children are killed or injured every day on roads across the UK.
Children, aged between four and 11, are taking part in Brake’s Kids Walk with Shaun the Sheep. The national project, in partnership with the Ocado Foundation, sees Shaun and his flock help youngsters learn key road safety messages and call on grown ups to make roads safer so 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 official figures show that 16,566 children were killed or injured on roads in the UK in 2017. This means that, on average, 45 children die or suffer injuries as a result of road crashes every single day.
Department for Transport (DfT) figures1 show that 14,226 children were killed or injured on roads in England in 2017, while Welsh Government statistics2 reveal there were 577 child road casualties during the same period. Transport Scotland3 say that 899 children were killed or injured on roads in Scotland in 2017, and numbers were similar for Northern Ireland, which reports 864 child road casualties in the same year.4
Of all regions, London saw the greatest number of child road casualties (2,397), with an average of 46 children killed or injured as a result of road crashes every week. The number has risen by 29% since 2013, when 1,865 children were killed or injured on the capital’s roads. Between 2016 and 2017 (the year for which the latest figures are available), the number of child road casualties rose by 16% (from 2,063 in 2016), which means an additional 334 children were killed or injured on roads in London.
More than 63,000 children from nearly 400 schools and nurseries are taking part in Brake’s Kids Walk, calling for five measures to help keep children safe near roads: footpaths, cycle paths, safe places to cross, slow traffic and clean traffic.
Dave Nichols, community engagement manager for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “Every child should be able to walk in their community without fear of traffic and pollution. Unfortunately, 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 must contend with fast traffic and pollution from vehicle emissions. If we want children and their families to walk, 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.”
