Pupil Safety and Dark Nights

The clocks go back an hour at the end of October and summer time ends. Road traffic collisions increase by 20% in the fortnight after the time change. Sadly, some of those collisions will involve child pedestrians and cyclists. Children under-16 are one of the most vulnerable groups of road users.

The latest available government statistics (2015)* show that 58% of children who die or are seriously injured in a road collision are involved in incidents between 3 and 7pm. From next Sunday, much of those will happen in darkness.

Whilst younger children are at risk, the data shows that 11 - 15 year olds are actually at more at risk from accidents that kill or result in serious injury.
The resources below will help remind children, especially teenagers, about road safety and safe cycling.

Teaching Road Safety: A Guide for Parents

https://www.rospa.com/media/documents/road-safety/teaching-road-safety-a-guide-for-parents.pdf

Safety First – Cycling at Night

https://www.cycletraining.co.uk/cycle-training-and-cycle-safety/safety-first-cycling-at-night/

Teaching road safety: guide for educators

https://www.brake.org.uk/assets/docs/Teachroadsafetyguide-Sept14.pdf

Road safety teaching resources for children

https://www.think.gov.uk/education-resources/

Be Bright, Be Seen Poster

https://6282.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Be_Bright_Be_Seen-A5-Flyer.pdf

*Facts on Child Casualties (June 2015)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/442236/child-casualties-2013-data.pdf