Children step out to slow traffic down

Motorists in Newtown and Abermule have been urged to slow down to 20mph in towns and villages - by schoolchildren taking part in the Go 20 campaign.

Schoolchildren from Hafren Primary School in Newtown and Abermule Primary School have joined thousands of others by stepping out in giant “walking buses” as part of the campaign by road safety group Brake.

The pupils from Hafren Primary School walked five miles as part of their campaign and raised money for the school and Brake, as well as meeting their Healthy Schools objectives during the walk on Thursday.

The pupils were raising awareness of speeds in towns and villages and joining the Brake campaign which wants more pavements, paths and crossing to make it easier and safer for children to walk to and from school.

“It was a great day and we hit three targets - raised awareness of the need for motorists to slow down as part of the Brake campaign, raised money for Brake and the school and met some Healthy Schools targets,” said Emma Grosvenor of Hafren School.

“The children were excellent and walked nearly five miles, or walked 6,751 steps as one child mentioned.”

Across Britain, almost as many primary school children are now driven to school as walk: 42 per cent are driven, while 48 per cent walk and 1per cent cycle. Research shows parents' concerns for kids' safety are a barrier to getting more children walking and cycling, impacting on health and contributing to congestion and traffic danger.

Every school day in the UK, 23 children are run over and hurt when walking or cycling to or from school and four of these children are killed or suffer serious, sometimes life-long, injuries. That's 713 children killed or seriously injured walking or cycling to school each year. Death on the road is the biggest non-medical killer of school aged children, greater than drowning, falls or accidental poisoning combined.

The GO 20 campaign - by Brake and a coalition of charities - calls for 20mph to become the norm in built-up areas, and appeals to drivers to slow down, to make roads safer for kids and adults on foot and bike. “A recent World Health Organisation report on pedestrian safety urged widespread 20mph limits where people live, as they are proven to reduce casualties and encourage walking and cycling,” said a Brake spokesperson.

In a survey by Brake of more than 450 kids from Wales taking part, children explained their need for safer streets to enable them to get out more on foot and bike. It found:

• six in 10 (61%) think more kids would be able to walk or cycle to school if roads were safer
• six in 10 (59%) say their route to school needs to be made safer
• two in three (69%) want more paths, cycle paths and crossings in their neighbourhood they can use to walk or cycle to the park, shops or to see friends
• more than half (55%) report being scared by traffic when walking or cycling in their neighbourhood.

Caption: Pupils from Hafren School on their Brake walk