RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
March 8, 2001
POORER UK CHILDREN AT "HIGHER RISK" OF ROAD ACCIDENTS
Children from poorer backgrounds are as much as six times more likely to be injured in a road traffic accident than those in more affluent areas, experts will tell a national conference on Monday.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ annual road safety congress Child Casualties - Meeting the Target, in association with Britax, will be held at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel, March 12-14.
David White and Dr Robert Raeside of Napier University will reveal the increased danger to children in deprived areas, when they report on child road accidents and socio-economic influences.
Their research in Lothian shows children from single parent families or minority ethnic backgrounds in poorer areas are at particular risk. They suggest targeting these groups in a bid to improve accident rates.
David White said: "We believe the situation in Lothian is likely be mirrored in other parts of the UK. The next task is to see if there is any difference between the safety of children from less well-off families in rural areas and urban areas."
The conference will be opened by Lord Macdonald, Minister for Transport, and Sarah Boyack, Scottish Minister for Transport. Speakers will be focusing on ways to reduce death and serious injury to children on the roads by 50 per cent in ten years in line with Government targets. Road crashes are the leading cause of deaths and injuries among children and young people in the UK.
Mike McDonnell, RoSPA Road Safety Manager (Scotland), said: "The answer to the problem of child road casualties lies with adults. Whether they are parents, teachers, drivers or officials, they all have a role to play in keeping children safe. If adult road users don’t start to change their behaviour, it will be impossible for us to meet the targets."
Issues under discussion include: the safety of American-style yellow school buses; pedestrian and cycle training; in-car child safety; safer routes to school; creating child-friendly environments and computer-based training resources.
CONFERENCE STARTS 2pm MONDAY
