More than 100,000 young children across the country are today being taught important road safety messages, as part of a nationwide initiative.
Organised by Brake, the ‘Beep Beep! Day’ initiative highlights the importance of young children holding hands with an adult while walking near or crossing roads at safe places.
It also helps children and their parents/carers understand why it’s vital that young children always sit in suitable child seats while travelling in a car – even on very short journeys.
Today (26 April), more than 2,000 nurseries, playgroups, infant schools, children’s centres and childminders will be hosting fun road safety related activities.
Lucy Straker, campaigns manager at Brake, said: “Beep Beep! Day is a great opportunity to start a conversation with our children about how to be safe around the road and why it is so important.
“I would like to thank everyone who is taking part – and especially the kids – for making this the biggest Beep Beep! Day yet.”
Figures show that in 2021, 512 children aged seven or younger were killed or seriously injured on British roads. That’s one young child every 17 hours – and the equivalent of a whole class of young children (27) being killed or seriously injured every 19 days.
In the same year, six children aged seven or under were killed and 159 seriously injured while travelling in cars.
Even though the law requires the use of approved child seats, about one in seven (14%) of parents and carers surveyed by Brake ahead of the latest Beep Beep! Day said that their child rarely or never sits in a child seat when travelling by car.
Additionally, more than 35% of parents and carers admitted to crossing roads between parked cars sometimes, and 14% said they do so often.
Almost two-fifths (37%) of respondents said they sometimes or often park on the pavement, even though 70% agree that it’s dangerous to do so.
Nearly a third (31%) said it was fine for drivers to stop on double yellow lines, or zig zag lines outside school.
Lucy Straker added: “Our children watch us, copy us every day. So when we cross between parked cars, don’t use a child seat or park on the zig zags outside school, we have to think about the message that sends to our children.
“We, as parents and carers, know these choices aren’t right, we know we are doing them because we are pushed for time or there seems like no other option, but our children don’t know that – they will think that it is ok.”
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