Parents Fear of Reckless Drivers

Sustrans reveal that more than 40% of UK parents have reported their child has been involved in a ‘near miss’ while cycling or walking to school.

According to a new survey from UK sustainable travel charity Sustrans, announced during National Walk to School Week, parents of five to 11-year-olds are worried that many of the nation's roads are unsafe for kids to be near to and have said their children have been involved in near misses with reckless drivers.

The survey claims that road safety and the threat of pedestrian accidents is a bigger concern for parents than ‘stranger danger’ or gang-related crime – with 44% most concerned about their child crossing the road safely.

Sustrans Chief Executive, Malcolm Shepherd, said, “In 2012, 33 children were killed and more than 1,800 were seriously injured while walking or cycling – if a whole classroom of children had been killed under other circumstances there would be public outcry.

“And there’s a simple solution in our hands. We must urgently make our roads safer for those children already making a healthy, active school run and also to encourage those who don’t feel safe enough to start walking or cycling.

“With today’s children the least physically active in history, and set to have shorter life expectancies than their parents because of this, shuttling kids to and from the school gate in the car is not the answer.

“Giving children the opportunity to walk, scoot of cycle the school run is vital to their health and well-being so making our roads safe enough that they can do this must be a top priority.”

Of the parents surveyed, 18% said their child had experienced a vehicle not stopping or stopping too late at a pedestrian crossing.

13% said their child had experienced a speeding vehicle nearly hitting them while crossing the road
and 5% said that their child had been hit by a vehicle while walking.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport, added: “Most drivers know that keeping to the speed limit can mean the difference between life and death in a collision and that they should always remain mindful of pedestrians, especially around schools where children are crossing.

“We are also encouraging councils to think about cyclists when designing new road schemes and they can also install safer Puffin crossings to detect when pedestrians have safely crossed.”

Parents in this Sustrans survey have said that slower speeds, more dedicated walking and cycling routes plus safer crossings were among the traffic measures that would allow their children to walk and cycle to school more often than they currently do.

Have you been involved in a pedestrian accident in the last three years. Want to know if you can make a claim? Call Winns today on 0800 988 6288.

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