Atomic Kitten Natasha Hamilton has joined forces with Road Safety Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman, children’s TV character Brum and oil company Total to launch Total Little Learners, a new campaign to cut the number of road accidents involving children six and under.

In 2004, 6,864 children aged six and under were involved in road accidents in Great Britain, of which 41 were tragically killed and a further 691 seriously injured. The Little Learners campaign is being launched in support of the Government’s target to halve child road deaths and serious injuries by 2010.  Featuring Natasha alongside superhero car Brum, the aim is to reach out to children aged six and under directly and get the road safety measure across.

Natasha says: “It’s my worst nightmare thinking about my kids being involved in a car accident, especially as I was so nearly killed myself.  When they’re so young, you have to keep your eye on them all the time because they can run into the road without thinking and you could lose them in a split second.”

In the first phase of the Little Learners campaign, reception teachers are being offered free creative classroom packs featuring Brum to help them teach road safety in the classroom, the playground and on the internet. The teaching pack supports the Department for Transport’s THINK! National road safety campaign and has been produced specifically for children six and under, in line with the National Curriculum.  The kits have been tested at a number of schools and have been met with positive responses by teachers and pupils alike.

Total is organising further assistance aimed at saving young lives which include checks on the safety of child seats their filling station forecourts aimed at protecting children involved in accidents in cars as well as on the pavement.

Dr Stephen Ladyman, Road Safety Minister, said: "Britain has one of the best road safety records in the world, but we are not complacent. Child casualties are down 43 percent since the late 1990s, but too many children still die on our roads. The Government's THINK! campaign with its Hedgehog characters aims to remind children of the dangers of the road and what they can do to stay safe. This campaign will make a helpful contribution to that work."

Total UK Managing Director, Malcolm Jones, explains the motivation for launching the initiative: “It’s distressing that so many young children are the victims of traffic accidents every day of the year. With many of our locations in residential areas and near schools it is something that affects our employees, customers and the communities we serve.  We are committed to making the roads safer for this vulnerable age group and by providing fun and informative teaching material we aim to make a real difference.”

The Total Little Learners pack activities use Brum to teach the important road safety lessons, concentrating on four key areas:

• safety on the pavement

• crossing the road safely (including the Green Cross Code)

• safe places to cross (including zebra, pelican and school crossings)

• safety in the car

Total has also created pages on the company’s website – www.total.co.uk/littlelearners - where parents can download the activities.  Teachers looking to request a copy of the Creative Classroom Pack should visit the teacher's section on the website.

Child deaths in the UK

Department for Transport figures show that 6824 children aged six and under were involved in road accidents in 2004, the latest year for which figures are currently available.  The following table is a breakdown by age and severity.

Age                  Killed               Seriously injured         Slightly Injured

0                      4                      12                                 150

1                      5                      32                                 587                              

2                      9                      73                                 748

3                      6                      120                               949

4                      3                      144                               1120

5                      9                      134                               1179

6                      5                      176                               1399

Totals               41                     691                               6132

Regional accident statistics

In March 2000 the Government published its road safety strategy ‘Tomorrow’s roads – safer for everyone’.  It established casualty reduction targets to be achieved by the end of 2010:

·         a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI)

·         a 50% reduction in the number of child (aged 15 and under) KSIs

Full year data for 2004 shows that the UK is on track:

·         Deaths and serious injuries were 28 per cent below the 1994-98 baseline

·         Child deaths and serious injuries were 43 per cent below baseline

Car Seats

According to the AA Trust:

• while the greatest risk for the youngest infants is travelling in a car, the widespread use of car seats for the very young has reduced the risk significantly

• children sitting in a correctly fitted child seat that is right for their size, usually suffer only minor injuries in a car crash

• rear-facing infant seats reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by more than 70%, forward-facing toddler seats by more than 50% and safety belts by 45%

• around half of all child seats are not fitted properly
  
  

New Car Seat Laws

• Updated legislation expected to come into force on 18 September 2006, subject to Parliamentary approval, will require children up to 135 cms in height to use the correct baby/child seat/booster or seat/booster cushion when travelling in cars and goods vehicles, with very few exceptions

• Total hopes to highlight and raise awareness of this new legislation as part of its 'Little Learners' campaign

• Total has launched a pilot programme on its forecourts in Buckinghamshire with Local Authority road safety officers checking that child car seats are correctly fitted 

On the roads

• The Department for Transport’s road accident statistics show that the risk of a child pedestrian being involved in a road accident rises significantly at the age when they start school

• By the age of two, children are most at risk when walking or playing

• most children up to the age of nine cannot judge how fast vehicles are going or how far away they are

• maintaining control of young children is key to keeping them safe

• the THINK Campaign advises parents to set children aged 1 to 4 a good example, hold their hands or keep them on reins, and not allow them to ride a bike on the road

• THINK advises parents to teach five year old children the Green Cross Code  – STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! – and to practice crossing quiet roads at the safest place

• Children should still be supervised and shouldn’t be allowed out on the roads alone.