With lockdown restrictions easing, many families are cautiously planning to get back on the road for the school holidays. There are some sobering statistics reinforcing the need to take care on the roads.
Road deaths in children across Australia have remained relatively steady for the past five years, however in Western Australia the numbers are unfortunately continuing to rise.
The Australian Government Road Deaths database shows that over the past four years WA has a disproportionately high number of child road fatalities. The state averaged almost 16% of Australia’s child road deaths, yet only 11% of Australia’s children live in WA.
The figures for the first half of 2021 are even worse, with almost 44% of Australia’s child road deaths to June occurring in WA.
While many of these tragic and avoidable deaths are children killed while passengers in cars, a number are also child pedestrians or cyclists.
Constable Care Foundation CEO, David Gribble, said a whole of community approach is required to reverse this tragic trend and education is key.
“This means parents and teachers educating children about road safety, as well as the hazards they may encounter on footpaths and around public transport,” Mr Gribble said. “It is never too early to start talking to children about road safety and modelling good road safety behaviours for them to follow.”
Constable Care Safety School is a fun, hand-on learning environment, which teaches vital road safety skills to children aged 4 – 12. Children explore real-life transport risks and learn to negotiate hazards they may encounter as passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.
The Safety School is an exciting excursion destination for primary schools and is open during school holidays for a fun, budget-friendly holiday activity.
Learn more or book a session here.
