All roads near schools should have a 20mph limit to “save lives”

Brake, which campaigns to improve road safety, said ‘reducing speed saves lives’ and has called for a 20mph speed limit on all roads around schools in the UK.

All roads near schools should have a speed limit one 20mph to reduce the number of child crash deaths, according to Brake, the national road safety charity.

Department for Transport figures show 2,456 children aged under 16 were killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads last year.

Many councils have introduced 20mph zones around schools.

But Brake said nearly two-thirds of parents reported that some roads near their children’s schools have higher limits.

Liverpool charity The Bobby Colleran Trust has been campaigning for safer roads around schools since Bobby was killed at just six years old outside his school in West Derby.

More than 100 schools in Liverpool City Region have now implemented ‘Bobby Zones’ where the maximum speed is 20mph. You can find out more here.

Brake campaigns manager Lucy Straker said:

“Dropmore’s situation is being replicated across the country.

“We speak to lots of schools where teachers are doing everything they can to make the roads near their school safe, but ultimately they need support from their local council and decision-makers.

“Why do we have to wait until a child is killed before we act?”

“We know that excess speed is a factor in about a quarter of fatal crashes, and the physics is pretty straightforward: the faster a vehicle is travelling, the harder it hits and the greater the impact.

“A crash at 30mph has twice the amount of kinetic energy as a crash at 20mph. Reducing speed saves lives.

“We’re calling for roads around every school to have 20mph speed limits – and other measures to effectively reduce traffic speed – so children and their families can travel safely to and from school every day.”

Children from more than 700 schools and nurseries are expected to participate in Brake’s Kids Walk on Wednesday, which involves walking in groups and calling for safe and healthy journeys without fear from traffic.

From September 17, the Welsh Government is introducing a default 20mph limit on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets.

It said Wales will be “one of the first countries in the world, and the first nation in the UK” to introduce such legislation.

Linda Taylor, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said:

“It is up to each individual council to introduce measures based on their own local needs, taking into account the views of the school, police and local residents.

“Speed limits exist for a reason and road users must observe them to keep children and parents safe.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “Local authorities in England decide speed limits on their roads but we always encourage road designs that prioritise safety.

“There are no plans to introduce default or national 20mph speed limits in urban environments.”

Find out more about Brake HERE.

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