Road Safety Week 22nd-28th November 2010 & Home Zones

Traffic is one of the biggest causes of death and maiming of children. It’s also one of the ways that children are most likely to be suddenly and violently bereaved; losing a brother, sister, parent or other close relative.

Statistics show us that drivers who drive above speed limits, or too fast for the road and the people using it, are one of the biggest causes of deaths and injuries of kids. Slowing down is the single most important thing that drivers can do in towns, villages, and around schools. The slower we drive, the more chance we have to react to the unexpected.

This Road Safety Week, Brake is giving children a voice. We’re asking them how speed affects their lives; at home, school and play. We’re talking to kids in communities that are campaigning for safety measures on their roads and asking what they’d like to see change. We know that children are often scared of traffic in their communities and describe traffic as fast and coming out of nowhere. We know that children prefer to walk or cycle rather than use cars. We know that children are small, vulnerable, and make mistakes, and can so easily die.

Children’s overwhelming message in Road Safety Week is a simple one: if we want to improve the safety and quality of life of kids using roads in our communities, we need to SLOW DOWN.

Home Zones

Children regularly face dangers from the traffic on roads in the residential areas and communities in which they live. ‘Home zones’ are a relatively new concept in the UK but there have been home zones in other parts of Europe for more than 25 years. There are more than 6,500 home zones in the Netherlands, and more in Germany, Denmark and Austria. In these countries, there is an internationally-recognised sign at the entrance to the home zone.

A home zone prioritises the safety of local people through speed limits of 20mph or lower and a variety of traffic-calming measures. A home zone can also improve the environment for local people, through extended pavements, benches and play equipment for children and trees and plants. Home zones have been found to work best on roads less than 500m long with less than 200 vehicles an hour.

Home zones are being trialled in the UK in London, Leeds, Manchester, Monmouthshire, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth and Sittingbourne. Other towns have already implemented home zone-style features in some streets.

Chester Street in Rugby has seating and street games such as hopscotch. A project in Henbury, Bristol, will include a ‘gateway’ at the entrance to a street.

The Children’s Play Council has produced a video aimed at inspiring and informing communitites about ‘Home Zones.’

I'll also take this time to say a thank you to Dereth for providing this info, it's been very valuable. I'm hoping that the MP's and councillors of the region can take up this challenge to.

http://www.roadsafetyweek.org/