GOING to school is getting safer. City of York Council is to introduce 20mph zones outside every primary school where appropriate.

It will cost £1 million, but the council has never spent our money more wisely. If the prospect of more traffic calming measures on York roads has the motorist in your household grumbling, quietly suggest that a slightly longer journey is a small price to pay for saving children's lives.

And this will save children's lives. As the Department of Transport's Think! campaign illustrates, a car travelling at 30mph takes six car lengths to stop in an emergency. At 20mph, that is reduced by half, giving a child who has run into the road a much better chance.

York council's pioneering speed restriction measures have already significantly reduced road deaths and injuries.

The city met the Government's target of a one-third reduction in road casualties by 2000 seven years ahead of schedule. And road casualties are down by 40 per cent in ten years.

That is not enough, however. Although Britain's roads are generally safer than those in Europe, our record on protecting children lets us down. The child pedestrian casualty rate in Britain is 1.21 per 100,000; in France it is 0.91, in Germany 0.64 and in Sweden 0.54.

One of the main barriers to reducing that casualty rate is rush hour traffic boosted by the school run. This is a Catch-22 situation. Parents fear for their children's safety, so drive them to school rather than let them walk or cycle. So the traffic increases, making the roads more dangerous.

The council hopes that creating 20mph school zones will help to break that vicious circle. By making school roads quieter, officers are creating the conditions to encourage walking and cycling.

These safety zones will be welcomed by most York residents. In the meantime, parents can make the roads safer now by driving and parking sensibly on the school run.

Updated: 10:43 Friday, October 05, 2001