'Why wait for a child to be killed before we act?' Campaign to slow down Northern Ireland drivers

The road safety charity Brake is calling for 20 miles-per-hour speed limits around schools. Credit: PA

An average of 15 children are killed or injured on Northern Ireland's roads every week, according to a road safety charity.

Brake is calling for speed limits of 20mph to be introduced around schools in a bid to cut that number.

It is asking the question: "Why do we have to wait until a child is killed before we act?"

The calls for change follow concerns from parents that roads aren't safe for children.

According to the charity's findings, 64% of parents across the country say their school doesn't have 20mph speed limits on all surrounding roads.

Figures from the PSNI show that 656 children under 16 were killed or injured on Northern Ireland roads in 2021. This makes for an average of 771 over the last five years.

The charity also found that while road casualty figures largely correlate with population density across the UK, Northern Ireland has the the highest rate of road casualties in the country.

On Wednesday, more than 720 schools across the UK - involving 110,000 children aged 4-11 - will take part in a walk organised by the charity to make safe and healthy journeys without fears or threat from traffic.

The walk aims to raise awareness of the five things they need to help them keep safe near roads:

  • Slower traffic

  • Cleaner traffic

  • Better footpaths

  • Better cycle paths

  • Safe places to cross

Lucy Straker, campaigns manager at Brake, said: "We speak to lots of schools where teachers are doing everything they can to make the roads near their school safe, but ultimately they need support from their local council and decision-makers.

"Why do we have to wait until a child is killed before we act?

"We know that excess speed is a factor in about a quarter of fatal crashes and the physics is pretty straightforward. The faster a vehicle is travelling, the harder it hits and the greater the impact.

"A crash at 30mph has twice the amount of kinetic energy as a crash at 20mph. Reducing speed saves lives.

"As schools up and down the country take part in Brake's Kids Walk to shout out for safe places to walk, with slow traffic, we're calling for roads around every school to have 20mph speed limits - and other measures to effectively reduce traffic speed - so children and their families can travel safely to and from school every day."

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