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Child Road Safety

Child Road Safety
How can you help your child stay safe on the roads? Brake, the road safety charity offers some top advice and guidance to parents who want to keep children safe on the roads.
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A child is killed or hurt every 18 minutes on UK roads. Brake, the road safety charity, believes families have the right to use roads safely, including being able to walk and cycle without fear of fast traffic. As well as campaigning for safer roads, Brake runs a ground-breaking educational programme to empower parents with essential information on keeping their families safe on foot, on bicycle and in the car.

Brake is calling on family workers, community leaders and volunteer parents to get involved in the FedEx & Brake Road Safety Academy, to help spread life-saving educational messages in their communities.

Child road safety

The FedEx & Brake Road Safety Academy is a community education programme co-ordinated by Brake and funded by express transportation company FedEx. It provides completely free training, resources and support to volunteers and professionals enabling them to give life-saving presentations on child road safety to parents. Free half-day training courses highlight the risks faced by children on roads and offer practical advice on issues including:

  • Keeping children safe on foot and bicycle, including setting a good example and teaching them how to walk and cycle safely
  • Safe driving, especially around schools and homes, to protect your own family and others in your community
  • Using child restraints safely, including ensuring they're right for your child's size and your car.

Everyone who attends the training receives free resources, including a colourful flip-chart and hand-outs for parents, plus ongoing phone support from Brake.

So far, volunteers and professionals trained through the Academy have given nearly 200 highly-rated presentations in children's centres and informal parenting groups, reaching more than 4,000 parents.

Paul Wright, a volunteer from the West Midlands, has given more than 20 presentations since he was trained in February 2006. Paul has arranged presentations with local parenting and childminding organisations and has reached more than 500 local parents.

Sue Barton, a family support worker at Sure Start Centre Bradford, was trained in 2005 and has given nine presentations reaching more than 100 parents. Sue delivers presentations in her mum and toddler groups and home safety courses. She's also organised road safety games to get children involved too. Sue says: "The training I received through the FedEx & Brake Road Safety Academy has been really useful and the resources, especially the flip chart, are fantastic. Brake has been very supportive since my training and I'd encourage others to get involved."