School Traffic Safety Assessment and School Road Safety Plans

Road safety dangers at and around schools arise from conflicts between students and vehicles. The main issues and concerns usually center on traffic congestion around the school, transit links, safe walking and cycling and car-pooling. A School Road Safety Plan is a series of practical steps for improving children’s safety and reducing the number of vehicles on the journey to and from school. Such plans can encourage major benefits to students, parents, the school and the local community. A School Traffic Safety Assessment: (1) Raises an awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding school traffic safety and how they interact; (2) Recommends how to identify and evaluate the extent of the safety problem around the school; (3) Establishes a policy framework through which the situation can be improved; and (4) Suggests supportive techniques and solutions that can be used to implement these policies. This paper will discuss the component parts of the School Traffic Safety Assessment and the development of a Comprehensive School Road Safety Plan.