§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his Department's support for road safety education programmes for school pupils; and what plans he has to promote pedestrian training at primary schools. [16342]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions recognises that children, especially pedestrians, are a particularly vulnerable group of road users and as such are a road safety priority. Road safety education both inside and outside school is an integral part of our approach to reducing road accidents amongst children complementing publicity, enforcement and engineering measures.
135WMy Department works closely with local authority road safety professionals, voluntary and commercial organisations and other Government Departments to encourage road safety education. In 1995, the Department produced Good Practice Guidelines for Road Safety Education in Schools and we are, at present, carrying out a review of the provision of road safety education in schools throughout Great Britain.
Despite a good overall road safety record, Great Britain has a relatively poor child pedestrian safety record. Research has shown that practical approaches to child pedestrian training, in small groups at the roadside, are the most effective at improving child pedestrian skills. My Department has used this approach to develop and evaluate two practical child pedestrian training schemes— "Let's Decide Walkwise" and "Kerbcraft". In addition this Department and the Department of Health have jointly funded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to produce a video resource—Step Forward—to encourage schools and adult volunteers to participate in local authority pedestrian training schemes.
The Government are committed to reducing car dependency, and in particular, the number of children being driven to school. We are supportive of projects which encourage children to walk and cycle in safety and take the bus to school. The DETR is currently funding research in this area. We are also providing capital resources to a number of local authority transport packages which include safer routes to schools projects. The current fundamental review of transport will be examining journeys to school in conjunction with other Government Departments.