Mansfield and Ashfield children hit by vehicles more than 30 times

Campaigners say more should be done to educate youngsters about road safety after thousands of child pedestrians across Britain were hurt or killed in incidents between 2017 and 2020.

Analysis of Department for Transport figures by insurance company Churchill reveals that during that period, 13 children were hit by a vehicle in Mansfield, as well as 21 in Ashfield.

Of them, two in Mansfield and five in Ashfield were seriously injured.

Primary school-aged pupils made up 9 per cent of all 146 adult and child pedestrian casualties recorded by the DfT in 2017-20.

Churchill's analysis found two incidents in Ashfield involving a casualty aged between four and 11 happened in a 20mph zone.

The figures also show that three children in Mansfield and four in Ashfield were hit during school ‘rush hours’, either between 7.30am and 8.30am, or 3.30pm and 4.30pm.

Analysis

According to the analysis of more than 600,000 accidents by Churchill, 10,100 primary-aged children have been hit by vehicles in the UK since 2017 – about seven a day.

More than 2,900 accidents have happened during school pick-up and drop off times.

Kirsty Hoad, from Churchill, said: “With more than half of primary school children walking or cycling to school, this is one obvious area where children will need to know how to stay safe.

"We encourage everyone to take an active role in educating young children in their lives about road safety."

She advised motorists to take extra care near schools and said speed restrictions were in place to protect children and should be observed at all times.

Rod Dennis, from the RAC, called for more 20mph zones to be introduced around schools, saying physical traffic calming measures also played a part in making streets safer.

Nearly a quarter of the incidents recorded nationally resulted in severe injuries, with 36 youngsters killed between 2017 and 2020.

A DfT spokesman said any death on the road is ‘unacceptable’ and said the Government is focusing on improving safety.

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