Drivers in Wales urged to be careful to avoid child casualties
Stats by a road safety charity has found, in Wales during 2023 there were 126 total road child casualties
More than 90,000 children aged 2–7 are taking part in Beep Beep! Day with Brake, the road safety charity.
Across the UK, 1,75 schools, nurseries and childminders have signed up to get involved and share important road safety messages with young children and their parents and carers.
Latest official figures show that 3,355 children aged 7 and under were killed or injured on roads in Britain in 2023 – that includes 17 children who died and 574 who suffered serious injuries.
These figures show that, on average, nine young children are being harmed on our roads every day.
The data also shows that in 2023, 1,869 children aged 0–7 were killed or injured while travelling by car, 1,157 while walking and 119 while cycling on roads in Britain.
The charities Wales-specific statistics shows:
In Wales during 2023 there were 126 total road child casualties, with 95 children left slightly injured and 31 children left seriously injured.
The charity say 'Beep Beep! Days' focus on three things to help young children be safer near roads:
- Holding hands with a grown up when walking
- Crossing roads at safe places
- Always using a child seat when travelling by car.
Ross Moorlock, Chief Executive Officer at Brake, said:
“We’re delighted to see almost 1,500 schools, nurseries and childminders take part in a Beep Beep! Day this year.
"As grown ups, we must always take responsibility for keeping children safe on our roads, but this is a great opportunity to start conversations about road danger and help them understand why road safety is so important.
“We see, every day, the devastating effects of road crashes on families, through the work of our National Road Victim Service, which this month is supporting 60 families following the death of a child in a road crash.
"It’s heart-breaking to hear that nine young children are harmed on our roads every single day, and shocking that the number of children who have been killed or seriously injured in road crashes has risen in recent years.
“At Brake, we are doing everything we can to prevent road death and injury, and we will continue to campaign for the solutions that we know will make our journeys safer, whoever we are and however we travel."