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Road casualties are about pain, grief and suffering, they are not accidents and all are avoidable. Doncaster Council has set some very challenging targets to reduce child road casualties significantly over the next three years.
For every child that is injured as a pedestrian on the roads in Doncaster there are two who suffer injuries as a result of travelling as passengers in cars. These injuries are caused by drivers crashing cars and are therefore not directly the fault of the children. However, most of these injuries would be reduced in severity or eliminated altogether if the children were correctly restrained in the car. Please ensure that your child travels in a restraint appropriate for its height, weight and age on every journey.
For further information click www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk
Practical pedestrian skills training is offered by the Doncaster Council Road Safety Education Unit through primary schools. Training is offered at two levels. Stepping Out for nominally Y1 children and Stepping Across for nominally Y4 children.
The training courses are delivered in schools and involve approved trainers taking small groups of children out to the road side and teaching children skills appropriate to their age group. All approved trainers are trained by the Road Safety Education Unit and are Criminal Records Bureaux checked.
Practical (on the road) cycle skills training courses are offered by the Road Safety Education Unit. These courses are for the most part organised through schools and take place in school time, there are however exceptions when for example courses are organised during school holiday times or summer evenings.
To be eligible for a course children must be 10 years old, most of the training in schools is done with Y6 students or occasionally with Y5’s. The training is delivered by approved trainers, all of whom are Criminal Records Bureaux checked.
Children should wherever possible be encouraged to walk, cycle or take the bus to and from school rather than be taken back and forth in a car. These alternatives to the car offer opportunities to reduce traffic congestion, improve safety outside schools, help to improve personal fitness and promote health gain through reduced pollution.
For further information about travelling to school by sustainable means go to: