Traffic education should become an integral part of the National Curriculum, in an effort to cut the numbers of young people killed and injured on UK roads, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has said.
The call ties in with a survey by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile), which found that only seven of 15 European countries had mandatory traffic education in schools.
Although the numbers of people killed and injured on UK roads have been steadily decreasing for many years, the rate of decrease has been slowing down recently.
In 2013, 1,713 people were killed in road accidents, the lowest number on record, and half as many as in 2000. The total number of casualties of all severities in 2013 was 183,670.
The total reported child casualties (ages 0-15) fell by 9% to 15,756 in 2013. The number of children killed or seriously injured also fell, decreasing by 13% to 1,980 in 2013.
However pedestrians were the second highest casualty type by category.
Despite the fall in casualty numbers, the IAM has said the figures remain unacceptable and has repeatedly called for greater training and awareness to help deliver a further marked reduction.
“Some countries in Europe have very structured and well organised programmes aimed at young people through their time in education,” commented Neil Greig, IAM Director of Policy and Research. “With ambitious targets being set on reducing the numbers of young people killed and injured on our roads, we believe having road safety education as part of the National Curriculum is a sure way to achieve those aims.”
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