Safety cheers as toll of children killed on county roads hits zero

Since county-wide road casualty statistics were first recorded in 1979 there has been a steady downward trend in the number of children killed and last year for the first time no children up to the age of 15 died as a result of road traffic accidents in South Yorkshire.

The total number of people killed and seriously injured on South Yorkshire roads in 2009 fell to 530 – the lowest figure since 1979.

South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership manager Ken Wheat said: "It is a gratifying that during 2009 there were no child deaths on the roads of South Yorkshire – this shows how the Safer Roads Partnership and public awareness of road safety is helping to reduce the number of people killed in collisions on the county's roads.

"This zero figure makes the Safer Roads Partnership determined to do even more. We must continue to do everything that we can to make the roads as safe as possible for children and other road users alike, and further reduce the number of people killed or injured. Work on reducing the casualties on South Yorkshire's roads must continue.

He added: "I can't sit here and say that figure is going to remain at zero as we move into the next decade, but we hope our efforts continue to bear fruit.

"The reduction is down to a lot of things but certainly children are not going out as much as they did and are therefore not as exposed to risk.

"It is gratifying that no mothers have had to have the knock on the door from the police telling them there is bad news.

"But these figures are not only about children – our overall casualty rate is the lowest since records began in 1979."

According to the Department for Transport (DfT), traffic is the biggest single cause of accidental death for 12- to 15-year-olds. Statistics also show that drivers are most at risk of having an accident in the first two years or so after they pass their test. One in five newly qualified drivers has a crash of some description within a year.

Chief Supt Keith Lumley at South Yorkshire Police said: "The partnership is delighted that we are seeing a reduction in the number of fatal and life-threatening collisions in South Yorkshire, especially where children are involved.

"Compare the fact that in 1983 22 children died on South Yorkshire roads compared with none in 2009.

"This is testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams within the Safer Roads Partnership to make every road user safer.

"Every death is, however, a tragedy and we will strive to reduce further the numbers of people killed on our roads through what we know are successful reduction methods.

"South Yorkshire Police will continue to target drivers who speed, drink and drive, use drugs or mobile phones, don't wear seatbelts and drive in a dangerous manner through a range of methods ranging from education to prosecution.

"Prosecution is often a last resort but if it is proportionate and modifies driving behaviour leading to a life being saved then it will be worth it."

The South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership is made up of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Councils, the Highways Agency, the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Primary Care Trusts, South Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.