The London Road Safety Council (LRSC) is spearheading a new campaign aimed at Year 6 pupils who are about to transition from primary to secondary school.
The first phase of the ‘It’s a Jungle Out There’ campaign will see local road safety officers visit schools or offer Zoom lessons in 11 London boroughs over the coming weeks to offer tips and advice on how to stay safe.
School newsletters to parents will also carry information about the importance of the issue.
The second launches during the summer holidays and will provide both parents and children across London with a range of useful resources ahead of the new school year.
Parents and carers will be targeted via popular social media platforms, including Facebook, with a series of five videos encouraging them to ‘have a chat about road safety’ before their child sets off on a new journey to secondary school.
The social media posts will also link to the LRSC website, where the campaign resources are free to download, including a comprehensive 12-page road safety guide.
The campaign comes amidst growing concerns that the pandemic has impacted young peoples’ exposure to ‘road risks’ – with lockdown resulting in home schooling for many, and fewer cars on the roads.
Initially, it will focus on 11 London boroughs: Waltham Forest, City of Westminster, Richmond, Hounslow, Wandsworth, Barnet, Southwark, Havering, Ealing, Brent and Hillingdon.
James Parker, executive officer at the LRSC, said: “Independently walking, cycling or using public transport to school is, for many young people, a rite of passage, but the sad reality is that a significant number of incidents involving a child killed or seriously injured as a result of a road collision happen on the school run.
“As part of the ‘It’s a Jungle Out There’ campaign, we want to encourage families across London to have the conversation about what the risks of the road are, and how to safely navigate their way to and from school.
“Our ultimate mission is to ensure that every child gets home safely each evening.”
In 2016, a Public Health England report cited that road collisions remain one of the main causes of premature death among children and young people aged 0-15 years – with 35% of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured (KSI) during what is typically classified as the ‘school run’.
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