The importance of road safety at primary school age
The UK has some of the safest roads in the world and has a good and improving record of reducing casualties. In 2019, Britain was in the top five of the safest countries in the European Union as ranked by number of road deaths per million inhabitants.
But the effects of every death or serious injury on our roads can be devastating - for the bereaved, for families and loved ones, and for those who support the seriously injured, some of whom may have long-term life-changing injuries.
For some time now the UK Government has concentrated on taking an integrated approach to road safety, with a commitment to the idea that road deaths and casualties are not merely the result of poor driving, but also of a transport system as a whole - from signage to road user education, from enforcement to infrastructure design and construction. The aim is to educate, raise standards and improve coordination, so that avoidable road deaths and injuries are reduced to an absolute minimum.
Key to this is a focus on educating and supporting those users that still cause concern and are disproportionately represented in our road casualty statistics, such as young drivers. By influencing good habits and behaviour early on, and at crucial times in a child and young adult's life, we hope to support further reductions in road collisions, fatalities and serious injuries.
How we can help
Our Safer Travel Team can support schools with a number of road safety services such as assessments, awareness training and activities. Find out more below.
