Parents need to teach children road safety

One in ten parents know a child who has been knocked over by traffic, new research shows. However many parents and children are still putting themselves at risk, with one in three parents and nearly one in ten children admitting they cross the road while talking on phones, texting or listening to an iPod/MP3 player.

Car insurance specialist, Admiral, questioned parents and children to find out about their road safety habits and worryingly found less than half of parents (42%) follow the Green Cross Code when crossing the road and almost one in five children (18%) say they don't. This is despite the research also showing most parents feel today's roads are busier (85%), with people driving faster (70%) and being less considerate to pedestrians (61%) compared to when they were children. Despite not always following it, parents also think following the Green Cross Code is more important than ever before (45%).

Commenting on the survey's findings, 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. Simply walking to school or to the shops together provides fantastic opportunities to start talking about road safety and to put into practice actions like choosing safe places to cross and not being distracted by music, a mobile phone or friends while crossing the road. And, of course, it's important that the adults themselves set a good example!"

But children don't make it easy for their parents, as almost a fifth (18%) argue with their parents because their parents worry about them crossing the road by themselves.

So for a 21st Century update on the Green Cross Code and to stress its importance, Admiral has put together a video with presenter Angellica Bell, highlighting what dangers exist for children on our roads today and how to avert them. It also features Kevin Clinton from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. To see the video visit admiral.com/GreenCrossCode

What lessons should parents be teaching to their children, and indeed, following themselves?

The best steps to take before crossing the road are:

Find a safe spot, ideally at a designated crossing.

STOP - just before you get to the kerb, do not get too close to the traffic. Make sure that all mobile phones and gadgets are put away and that earphones have been removed. 

LOOK - all around for traffic. Traffic could come from any direction. 

And LISTEN - because you can sometimes hear traffic before you see it. Nothing you're doing at that time is more important than crossing the road safely.

Admiral Managing Director, Sue Longthorn, added, "It's not just cars that our children need to be aware of, they also need to know to behave and concentrate on their surroundings at all times when crossing the road because not doing this could prove to be fatal. Shockingly, 81 children were killed on Britain's roads in 2009, of whom 37 were pedestrians. An additional 7,946 child pedestrians were injured on the roads as well*.

"As parents have pointed out, roads are busier than ever before, and with modern day distractions such as mobile phones taking children's attention, we felt it was especially important to draw attention to just how important the Green Cross Code is today."