Skip to main content

Rise in percentage of younger UK children involved in road accidents

The AXA RoadSafe report shows that although there has been a reduction in the number of children involved in road accidents in the UK in recent years, with the figure now standing at over 2,400 per year, there has been an increase in the proportion of those under the age of five being involved in accidents. Out of the children who are injured or killed, 14% are under the age of five, which compares to just 11% in 2001. This means that more than 300 children under the age of five are being injured or killed
June 19, 2013 Read time: 2 mins

The AXA 3441 RoadSafe report shows that although there has been a reduction in the number of children involved in road accidents in the UK in recent years, with the figure now standing at over 2,400 per year, there has been an increase in the proportion of those under the age of five being involved in accidents.

Out of the children who are injured or killed, 14% are under the age of five, which compares to just 11% in 2001. This means that more than 300 children under the age of five are being injured or killed on the roads each year.

The report also shows that out of the accidents taking place during the school run, nearly one in three (32%) involve secondary school children. Many children are thought to be being distracted by mobile phones and other handheld devices, with the AXA RoadSafe report calling for better road safety education, particularly for primary school children.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK Road crashes rise for only the second time since 2005
    September 23, 2015
    A report by the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety and the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Foundation found that 1,775 people were killed and 22,807 hurt on British roads last year. The increase has been attributed to the scrapping of casualty reduction targets for local councils and a cut in funding for road infrastructure safety improvements. The report also cited in-car technology, such as satellite navigation systems – sat-navs - and infotainment systems, as a factor
  • €14.47bn to fix England and Wales local road network, ALARM Survey claims
    April 3, 2014
    The 19th Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) Survey published today reports that the estimated cost to get England and Wales’ local road network back into reasonable condition has increased to €14.47 billion (£12 billion) from €12.06 billion (£10.5 billion) in 2013. For the second year in a row, more than two million potholes (2,010,749) were filled in England and Wales over the course of the previous year.
  • Bitumen technology reduces maintenance costs
    April 12, 2023
    Looming net zero deadlines, and impetus from the private sector are accelerating the take up of carbon-saving technologies
  • Are EVs too quiet to be safe?
    June 12, 2019
    Concern is being expressed in the UK over the safety of low noise, electric vehicles. Children and those with poor sight are particularly at risk from electric vehicles, which are much quieter in operation than conventional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.