The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has been following
with interest this week’s public debate about the merits of children
cycling unsupervised.

Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA’s chief executive, said: “One of RoSPA’s central
principles is that life should be as safe as necessary, not as safe as
possible. Children develop valuable skills for life when they are
given opportunities to get out and about to experience risks and learn
how to cope with them.

“RoSPA encourages children to cycle, and advises parents to ensure
their children have had some formal cycle training before they are
allowed to ride on and near roads unsupervised. In addition to formal
training, parents are well placed to know about their children’s
skills and maturity, as well as the nature of the area in which they
live. They can use this information to make decisions about whether to
allow their children to use the roads unsupervised, either as a
cyclist or pedestrian.

“The real issue in the case that has prompted so much attention this
week - of an eight-year-old and five-year-old cycling to school by
themselves - is the level of supervisory responsibility given to the
older child. RoSPA’s concern about children having responsibility for
other children relates to how they would cope if anything did go
wrong.”

Tom Mullarkey said that the debate was also important because it
reignited discussions about safer cycling in general.


He said: “We often hear that people would like to use their bikes but
decide not to due to safety fears. Recently published provisional
figures from the Department for Transport show that cyclist deaths
fell by 10 per cent from 115 in 2008 to 104 in 2009, although, going
against the general downward trend in road user casualties, the number
of cyclists seriously injured rose by six per cent from 2,450 to
2,606. Cycle traffic levels are estimated to have risen by four per
cent. Although the picture is mixed, people are right to be concerned
about their safety while cycling.


“We want more people to cycle and we therefore need to stay focused on
improving the safety of cyclists. Good training and awareness, for
both motorists and cyclists is crucial, and we would encourage greater
creativity, particularly when it comes to children cycling – maybe
“cycling buses” for journeys to and from school, similar to “walking
buses” that some areas already use. We would also welcome an expansion
in cycle route networks. Adult cyclists are kept off most pavements
for good reason, but where there are wide pavements with low
pedestrian usage, local authorities can consider dividing them so they
can become a space used by those on foot and on bicycles.”


RoSPA’s mission is to save lives and reduce injuries