Road Safety Week: Call for road safety to be taught in schools

The TTC Group is calling on the Government to introduce road safety training on to the National School Curriculum for Road Safety Week 2021.

TTC Group believes it would prove beneficial for the safety of all, and are calling for road safety awareness to be taught in schools.

With 4,140 reported road casualties aged 0-16, and a further 7,630 casualties aged between 17-24, in 2020, there is a clear case for road safety to be added to the national curriculum if even a small percentage of these 11,770 casualties could be avoided.

Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, said: “Younger drivers have a much higher chance of being in a crash due to over-confidence, inexperience and the fact they are more likely to take risks while on the road.

“Improved education for children and young people is vital, which is why we’re working with schools and colleges up and down the country this Road Safety Week to raise the profile of safe journeys.”

TTC has delivered an annual training programme to schools in the private sector across the UK, with teacher-led road safety classes for students as young as 15.

The interactive workshops are arranged to encourage students to engage with teachers, ask questions and gain valuable knowledge on a valuable future life skill.

The course is then delivered as a refresher to year 12 students as they approach their 17th birthdays and are therefore likely to experience driving for the first time.

In a similar fashion to other subjects like design and technology, TTC believes teaching road safety to students nationwide would provide the next generation of road users a potentially life-saving set of practical skills before leaving school, leaving them better prepared for when they start learning how to drive.

Andy Wheeler, head of technical delivery for TTC, said: “Too many young drivers are involved in crashes when they first pass their tests.

“By introducing this content into the National Curriculum, the Government can give students the opportunity to regularly learn about road safety and be better prepared for when they become drivers.”

Part of the course TTC deliver discusses the ‘Fatal 4’; excess speed, mobile phone use, drink driving and lack of seatbelt use. By providing knowledge on these areas and the risks associated with driving, pupils will be far better prepared for life on the road as drivers and passengers.

Young drivers are sadly overrepresented in collision stats; one in five crash within their first year of driving and more than 1,500 are killed or seriously injured each year.