New guidelines for schools, aimed at helping them improve road safety, has been published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
The publication – which comes as pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year – provides information and tools to help schools develop and implement a road safety action plan to reduce the risk of incidents occurring during the commute to and from school.
Together with An Garda Síochána, the RSA is also appealing to parents, guardians and teachers to ensure road safety is on the back to school checklist. Drivers are being reminded they should expect to see a rise in the number of children using “active modes” of transport such as cycling, walking or scooting to get to school.
“I would encourage schools to read the new guidelines from the RSA and develop safety action plans to improve safety around their schools,” said Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton.
The RSA’s new ‘Guidelines for improving road safety around your school’ were developed with input from the Department of Education and Skills, An Garda Síochána, Green-Schools / An Taisce, the City and County Managers Association, Local Authority Road Safety Officers, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the National Transport Authority, and are available to read online.
To date in 2021, a total of 95 people have died on Irish roads, three more than the same period in 2020.
