RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
February 19, 2007
CALL FOR GAPS IN ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION TO BE PLUGGED
Experts will meet next week to explore how road safety education throughout childhood and beyond is crucial if deaths and injuries on Britain’s roads are to be cut.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accident’s 72nd National Road Safety Congress will look at the need for education and training for different age groups and in different settings.
Dr Stephen Ladyman, Minister for Road Safety at the Department for Transport, will open the event at the Holiday Inn in Stratford-upon-Avon on Monday, February 26.
Peter Wilkinson, Managing Director of Policy, Research and Studies at the Audit Commission, will present the findings of Changing Lanes, the Commission's new national report on road safety, which is being published on February 26 to coincide with the conference.
Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety, said: “Road safety education for children and adults is indispensable if we are to improve behaviour on our roads and reduce deaths and injuries. Although we have one of the best road safety records in the world, the latest figures from the Department for Transport show that 32,155 people were killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads in 2005, of which 3,201 people died.
“An enormous effort is already put into providing road safety education but there are gaps that need to be filled; for children both in and out of school, and for adults who currently receive very little road safety education apart from initial driver and motorcyclist training.”
More than 250 delegates from the UK and abroad will attend the sell-out conference, Encouraging Education in Road Safety, which runs until Wednesday, February 28, in association with Britax.
Child pedestrian training is a key topic on the agenda. Of the 7,129 pedestrians killed or seriously injured in Britain in 2005, 2,134 (30 per cent) were under the age of 16.
Road safety projects targeting young people, disadvantaged areas and vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, horse riders and people with disabilities, will also be discussed and there will be a session focusing on young-driver training.
Kevin Clinton said: “Ideally, everyone would benefit throughout their life from a road safety curriculum that begins with pedestrian safety education and practical training, followed by cyclist safety education and more practical training. Vehicle safety covering motorcycle riding and car driving would come next and there would be opportunities for relevant refresher education and training throughout life.”
Road safety managers, accident prevention officers, representatives of the police and fire services, highways safety engineers, trainers, health workers, councillors and consultants will be among those at the event.
Congress starts at 2pm on Monday, February 26. For more information, see www.rospa.com/road/index.htm
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RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
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