Introduction

It seems a fundamental right that children and young people should be able to move about safely on our streets, yet, in 2002, 144 children aged between five and 16 years were killed on Britain's roads and 3,950 were seriously injured. Deaths from road accidents represent 11% of all deaths and are the largest single cause of accidental death among schoolchildren. In recent years, in Britain, the number of deaths per head of population among child pedestrians has not compared favourably with other similar northern European countries, such as France or Germany (DfT, 2003). On the other hand, Britain has a low number of deaths among motor vehicle occupants compared to these countries, which implies that while Britain has a good record for protecting motor vehicle drivers and passengers, it has not been so successful in protecting more vulnerable road users such as child pedestrians. To focus attention on this problem, in March 2000, the government set a target for practitioners of a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads by the year 2010, compared to the average for 1994 to 1998 (DETR, 2000).

Casualties arising from road accidents are often categorised according to their mode of transport at the time of the accident. In the main, for children, the relevant classes are pedestrians, cyclists, car passengers and bus passengers but, in addition, there may be small numbers of skateboarders, horse riders, motorcycle riders and even car drivers. Pedestrians and cyclists are the most vulnerable groups since they do not have the protection of a motor vehicle around them and so are more likely to be injured in a collision. Child pedestrians are especially vulnerable due to their lack of skill and experience, and their size, which makes them less visible to drivers and more prone to injury. Nevertheless, in recent years, the numbers of casualties for all road users including children have been declining, but the reasons for this are complex and involve examining many factors that may contribute to this seemingly encouraging picture.

National road accident statistics need careful scrutiny and only reveal a partial view of the risk unless they are combined with information on the amount of time children spend, or the distances they travel, exposed to the risk of an accident.