Every Child's Future Matters - Sustainable Development Commission

Enhancing delivery
2 Stay safe
Key judgement Key judgement
“Children and young people are provided
with a safe environment”
Road accidents are a serious concern, but care must
be taken to ensure that protecting children does not
end up incarcerating them in cars, bedrooms and
classrooms. Limiting young people’s movements
rather than focusing on issues like traffic speed
produces a range of problems associated with
inactivity, including obesity and an inability to
assess risks due to insufficient exposure to civic
space. Increased use of no-stopping zones around
schools can discourage school runs by car, and
the introduction of 20 mph speed limits cuts child
pedestrian accidents by 70 per cent and child cyclist
accidents by 48 per cent. 95 Constructing designated
cycle routes to include schools and locating new
schools on existing routes, as well as providing all
schools with quality cycling facilities, will allow
children to make healthier, safer choices. Where
cycle lanes are part of the road, low barriers, as used
in Copenhagen, make children safer and feel safer. 96
Play areas should also be safe and easily accessible
by walking and cycling.
“Children and young people and their carers are informed
about key risks to their safety and how to deal with them”
Evidence-based information on the risks of different
forms of travel danger can allay parents’ fears
about letting their children cycle and walk to school.
Parents’ concerns about the risk of strangers, for
example, can pose a barrier to children’s freedom
that is not statistically borne out.
Example
As a result of a school travel plan, Lambeth
Council’s transport department is consulting
parents on traffic calming in the school’s
vicinity. As well as improving safety, this will
bring learning benefits from reduced noise,
health benefits from reduced pollution and
a reduction in carbon emissions.