Parents' relaxed attitude 'putting kids at risk'

Date: 11/2/2011

A "relaxed attitude" to road safety among UK adults may be putting children at risk, it has been suggested.

New research by Admiral claims that one in ten parents know a child who has been knocked down by traffic.

However, a third of mums and dads have admitted to texting, talking on their phone or listening to a personal music player when crossing the road, while nearly one in ten young people cross roads while using their mobile phones or listening to music on headphones.

In addition, fewer than half of parents stick to the Green Cross Code of road safety and just under a fifth of young people do not abide by the Code.

Despite this, 85 per cent of parents believe that roads today are busier, 70 per cent feel motorists are driving faster and 61 per cent claim less consideration is shown to pedestrians.

Kevin Clinton, Head of Road Safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "Parents and carers have an important role to play in helping their children learn about road safety from an early age."

This year's theme for Brake's Road Safety Week is Too Young to Die.

Posted by Sarah Bailey