Safety first is key lesson

Shorter days put children at greater risk when travelling to and from school. It’s vital to increase visibility, says Helen O’Callaghan.

WE get an extra hour in bed this weekend, but the clocks changing should be a wake-up call to keep our children safe on the roads.

Road accidents are the leading cause of child injury in Ireland. According to the Road Safety Authority (RSA), 262 children died on our roads between 1997 and 2012, with 1,107 seriously injured. In the eight months to early Sep 2013, four young lives were lost. The RSA’s latest report found children are most at risk of being killed on roads between 4 and 6pm, exactly when they may be travelling home from school.