sou · GRB3127d1 · 2004-01-01 00:00:00 — We therefore propose additional terms of reference for the committee that is currently studying the question of licences for riders of Class I mopeds and light all-terrain vehicles, requiring it also to examine the possibility of compulsory training and licences for Class II mopeds. In addition, we propose that the should be asked to review the regulations concerning the carrying of passengers on mopeds. Riders should have some experience of handling a moped themselves before they are permitted to start carrying passengers. In relation to older adolescents, we wish to increase the availability of broader-based road user training at upper secondary schools, to promote greater risk awareness on the roads and to lay a and skills prior to actual driver training. The Commission has noted that access to broader training of this kind (as opposed to training for a driving licence) in upper secondary schools varies widely across the country. To ensure that all young people, wherever they live, have a similar chance of receiving general road safety training before learning to drive, we propose that the for Education, in collaboration with the , should develop a national syllabus for such a programme. extensive driving experience has been found to be a very important factor in reducing the number of incidents giving rise to injuries in which car drivers are involved during their first year with a licence. Studies show that private driving practice is an important part of the training of learner drivers, since it results in greater safety after they have passed their tests, but also that there are certain problems with the way in which such practice is undertaken, and that injuries occur in conjunction with it. To enhance the effectiveness of private driving practice, we propose improved support for supervisors and learner drivers in the form of compulsory supervisor training. This training should be seen as an initial step in the collaboration that is to take place between supervisor and learner, and they should therefore undergo it at the same time. To be a safe driver, it is not sufficient to have a technical under- standing of how a car works and to know the rules of the road; it is also necessary to be able to judge risk factors and to decide under what conditions it is dangerous to drive. We propose that the should make it compulsory for driver training to include a component designed to create a greater awareness of risks in road traffic and of behaviour that can give rise to dangerous situations. The skid control training provided at skid training centres already includes, in addition to training in practical skills, certain risk awareness elements. Our proposal envisages an expanded programme of skid control and risk training. An important question for new parents and their relatives is how children should be placed in cars in order to be carried as safely as possible. Regarding this issue, the Commission stresses the need for car manufacturers to assume an overall responsibility for the child safety aspects of their vehicles. Integrating child safety into the design and development of new car models is an important injury prevention measure, facilitating both access to and correct use of child restraints. To give a clearer signal of the importance society attaches to road safety, we propose a tightening up of the Road Traffic Ordinance: on the one hand, it should be clarified to the effect that vehicles may not be used to carry more passengers than the number of seatbelts permits; on the other, we propose that the should study the feasibility and consequences of including in the Ordinance stricter provisions on special safety equipment for children. We also propose that the should be asked to study the feasibility of the national vehicle inspection company carrying out inspections of how child restraints are fitted. Chapter 12 The recreational environment and recreational activities Drowning is the third commonest cause of death among children and young people, after road traffic injuries and injuries resulting from deliberate self-destructive acts. Swimming ability, improved water safety and supervision of young children are by far the most important factors in preventing drowning accidents. the period 1997–2001, 8–9 children aged 1–17 died as a result of drowning every year. In 2002, 14 children over the same age range drowned. The majority of drowning accidents occur in summer, in conjunction with outdoor bathing. Pre-schools, pre-school and schools all have a part to play in promoting water safety and experience of water. We therefore propose that teaching of water safety should be included in (Lpfö 98). We also propose that the expression be able to swim in the physical education and health syllabus for compulsory schools should be clarified on the basis of the official definition of swimming ability: a person is able to swim if they can fall into deep water, have their head submerged and, after surfacing again, swim 200 m without stopping, including 50 m on their back. In addition, we propose that the should be entrusted with the task of issuing general guidance on quality of local authority and outdoor bathing facilities from a safety point of view. From our contacts with the Authorities it emerges that there is no clear-cut answer as to what responsibilities local authorities have in relation to outdoor bathing facilities. We propose that the , in consultation with the Association of , should revise and update the publication Strandbad (Shore bathing) and supplement it with information on the legal position regarding local authorities responsibilities for public bathing places. Children spend a large proportion of the time they are outdoors in environments created for them by adults. This demands a great deal in terms of those adults understanding of play and what it requires in the form of physical environments. Since the was replaced with the Office of the Childrens Ombudsman, there has been no national driving force and channel for communication with local bodies on issues relating to the play environment of children. We therefore see a development effort aimed at creating a better understanding of environments suitable for play as an important part of , and Plannings overall task of developing and disseminating knowledge about safe outdoor environments conducive to childrens development. This question must receive more attention at the national level, in order to support and develop local efforts. It is a matter both of creating awareness and understanding among the decision-makers concerned that play is important from many points of view, and of demonstrating how good environments for play can be created and managed. In 1998 a new European standard for fixed playground equipment and impact-absorbing playground surfacing was presented, with the aim of eliminating serious injuries resulting from equipment in play areas. The following year the standard previously in force in was superseded by this European standard (SS-EN 1176- 1/7 and SS-EN 1177). In many municipalities there is uncertainty about what the new standard actually entails, and playgrounds and play equipment have been removed on the basis that they do not comply with it. To prevent uncertainty about rules and responsibilities inhibiting the development of good play environments for children, we propose that , and Planning and the , in consultation with the Authorities, should together inform and educate local authorities, housing corporations and others concerned about existing regulations on play areas and fixed play equipment. Sport and exercise make a positive contribution to public health and should be encouraged, not least in view of the fact that inactivity is probably the biggest future threat to the health of the nation. Collated data relating numbers of injuries to the time devoted to sport and exercise are not available at present. detailed data are needed on how much children and young people are exposed to specific sports, to get a better perspective on the scale of sports injuries. The number of children and young people actually injured when taking part in sport or exercise is more than 50,000 per year, and preventive action is necessary to reduce both the individual suffering involved and the cost to society. The Commissions view is that more effective efforts need to be made to prevent serious and fatal sports injuries. We propose that methods of preventing sports injuries should be included in the training of physical education teachers. We believe that this issue should be given high priority within the sports movement, and that the Swedish Sports Confederation, together with the specialized sports federations, should, by means of education and information, create wider awareness of the incidence of sports injuries and how they can be prevented. We propose that some of the state appropriation for Support to sport should be used for efforts to prevent acute sports injuries among children and young people. In the light of several serious accidents in recent years at discos and music festivals, resulting in young people being injured and killed, the Child Safety Commissions terms of reference included the task of proposing ways of improving safety at musical events. This question has been examined in two recent studies by and the . The Commission notes that the problem of sudden-onset hearing damage, caused by high sound levels, is not addressed in these studies. While our own inquiry has been in progress, has studied the risk of damage to hearing due to high sound levels. In our report we describe the main findings of the studies mentioned, and stress our view of the importance of preventive action to ensure that children and young people do not develop tinnitus as a result of events involving high levels of sound. The Child Safety Commission endorses the measures recommended by the in its report. We propose that, when decisions are taken to implement those recommendations, they should be supplemented with measures to reduce the injuries which children and young people can suffer as a result of high sound levels. Chapter 13 Safety and development in physical planning The position of children and young people in the context of physical planning is weak, and yet the design of residential, school and pre-school environments is of great importance to them. To ensure a stronger focus on children in planning, we propose that the word children should be included in the purpose section of the Planning and Act. The intention is to make it clear that the Act as a whole is to be interpreted from a childrens point of view. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to express their views in all matters affecting them, and due weight is to be given to those views. They also have the right to receive and impart information, and to do so using the medium of their choice. Similarly, the Planning and Act gives children and young people the right to participate in the consultation processes for which it provides. However, experience shows that their voices are rarely heard in this context. We therefore propose an amendment to the Planning and Act, requiring local authorities to take steps to ensure that children have the opportunity to participate, and that due weight is given to their views. This amendment is intended to promote a conscious effort by local authorities to come into contact and communicate with children. In our view, county administrative boards have an important part to play in securing the involvement of children and young people in municipal planning. In their supervisory role under the Planning and Act, these boards should look in particular at how the knowledge and views of children and young people have been taken into account in local authorities planning documents. To strengthen the expertise of county administrative boards on childrens issues in the longer term, we propose an addition to their standing instructions, requiring them to take into account in their supervisory activities the needs, views and rights of children, in the light of the provisions and aims of the Childrens Convention. Child impact assessments are an important means of systematically elucidating how children and young people may be affected by different decisions. Such assessments should be based on research and empirical experience, as well as on the knowledge children themselves have contributed. In our opinion, a number of key factors determining the safety and development of children and young people are inadequately understood. We therefore propose that the future lead agency should be given the task of developing the knowledge base needed for child impact assessments in this field. Architects, planners and local government officers often have to make difficult judgements in the context of physical planning. The standards and rules that used to provide guidance on the design of outdoor environments have been removed from the Planning and Act. To support work at the local level, we propose that , and Planning, in collaboration with researchers and relevant authorities, should be entrusted with the task of summarizing and communicating knowledge about how outdoor environments need to be designed in order to secure the right of children and young people to safe environments beneficial to their development. The elimination of detailed statutory regulation makes it necessary for the people who design such environments to possess knowledge in this area. Here, the relevant educational institutions have an important role to play in ensuring that their curricula and syllabuses correspond to the demands which students will face in their professional careers. The concept of urban densification, or urban compaction, has gained a strong following among the architects and planners of today. The causes and effects of higher urban densities are complex, and opinions differ as to what they entail for children and young people. What is clear, though, is that green spaces in local neighbourhoods are disappearing, and that smaller and smaller areas are being set aside for childrens and young peoples play and recreation. It is important to monitor this trend, and we therefore propose that , and Planning, in collaboration with researchers and relevant authorities, should be given the task of collating up-to-date knowledge about what urban densification entails for childrens and young peoples access to safe environments which promote their development. The national environmental quality objectives and the interim targets elaborated under each of them are important guidelines for community planning today. Consequently, we consider it important to formulate interim targets which result in a process of development that provides for the needs and rights of children and young people. We therefore propose that the Government should develop interim targets under the objective A Good Built Environment which take account of the right of children and young people to safe environments conducive to their development. Chapter 14 Suicide, suicide attempts and other self-inflicted injuries the period 1980–2000, around 20 people under the age of 18 died each year as a result of suicide. Suicide is the second commonest cause of death in for girls aged 13–17, and the third commonest among boys in the same age group. Among children under 15, suicide is uncommon. Between 1998 and 2000, 4 per cent of boys and 9 per cent of girls aged from 0 to 17 years received in-patient hospital care as a result of deliberate self-destructive behaviour. Regarding acts of self-harm (cutting, scratching etc.) among children and young people, it is difficult to find reliable figures. A questionnaire survey showed that 9 per cent of respondents (under the age of 18) had at some time deliberately harmed themselves. In our view, greater expertise on the part of school staff would improve the chances of the pupils concerned being seen and receiving help. We therefore propose that , in consultation with the for School Improvement, should be asked to draw up guidelines for schools on the elaboration of written plans to prevent suicide, suicide attempts and other self-inflicted injuries. We also consider that the mental and social ill health of children and young people should be given greater prominence in the work of the school health services. We therefore propose that, in the guidelines for school health service planning which it is elaborating, should draw particular attention to mental and social ill health among children and young people. We also propose that , in close collaboration with , should disseminate information on the commonest symptoms of mental ill health among children and young people to parents and other adults. Preventing self-inflicted injuries in children and adolescents is a complex matter that requires the involvement of several different disciplines. We therefore propose that the assignment given by the Government to , in association with and the for School Improvement, to develop strategies for inter- agency collaboration for the benefit of vulnerable children, should be broadened to include children and young people with suicidal or self-harming behaviour. Chapter 15 Methods of achieving enhanced safety and development To a significant extent, safety promotion efforts in have focused on safety into the environments in which children and young people live their lives. With regard to certain types of accidents, the scope to build in safety in this way is limited. Consequently, the emphasis of many injury prevention programmes has been on influencing behaviour, by means of either laws and regulations or information and education. Experience makes it clear that consultation with children and young people should become a natural part of the work of many agencies and programmes. We often proceed from an adult view of the child, believing that we know what is best for children and young people. When we give them the opportunity to share their own experience and knowledge, a different picture of reality emerges, allowing efforts to be focused on the areas that genuinely make a difference to the everyday lives of the younger generation. We can find good examples of local and other authorities involving children and young people in their work. Commonly, children are informed and consulted and their views form part of the input into the decisions taken. The Child Safety Commission emphasizes the need to maintain and further develop this approach. As the next step, the big challenge is to allow the views of children and young people to have a real impact on the decisions reached. care facilities and schools have an important part to play in promoting democracy in the local community, and several of the local projects which we present show how long-term collaboration with schools can be built up. It is also important to develop pupil democracy in schools. From experience we know that, when pupils are involved in a schools work environment programme, the result can be a school playground that offers challenges that are something out of the ordinary – without increasing the number of injuries. There is no lower age limit for involving children; rather, it is a matter of how they are involved and in what issues. Finally, it may be noted that a crucial factor in any dialogue between children and adults is mutual respect, which also means having the to respond to and question one anothers views. lag om ändring i skollagen (1985:1100) Härigenom föreskrivs att det i 1 kap. skall införas en ny paragraf 2 a § av följande lydelse. Huvudmannen skall tillhanda- hålla en ändamålsenlig utemiljö, anpassad för elevernas olika förut- sättningar och behov, som syftar till att främja barns lärande och ut- veckling. En skyddskommitté bör sam- manträda minst en gång var tredje månad.Vid skyddskommitténs sam- manträden bör även företrädare för företagshälsovården vara när- varande.Två av de elevskyddsombud, som har utsetts enligt 6 kap. 17 § arbetsmiljölagen (1977:1160), får närvara och yttra sig, rätt att lägga förslag och rätt att rösta vid skydds- kommittésammanträden, i frågor som rör elevernas arbetsmiljö. Elev- skyddsombuden inom varje skyddskommittéområde bestäm- mer vilken eller vilka som skall företräda dem vid sammanträdet. lag om ändring i arbetsmiljöförordningen (1977:1166) Härigenom föreskrivs att 8 a § skall ha följande lydelse 8 a §1 En skyddskommitté bör sam- manträda minst en gång . Vid skyddskommitténs sam- manträden bör även företrädare för företagshälsovården var när- varande. Två av de elevskyddsombud, som har utsetts enligt 6 kap. 17 § arbetsmiljölagen (1977:1160), får närvara och yttra sig vid skydds- kommittésammanträden. Elev- skyddsombuden inom varje skyddskommittéområde bestäm- mer vilken eller vilka som skall företräda dem vid sammanträdet. lag om ändring i (1987:10) Härigenom föreskrivs att 1 kap. 1 § och 5 kap. 20 § skall ha följande lydelse. Denna lag innehåller bestäm- Denna lag innehåller bestäm- melser om planläggning av mark melser om planläggning av mark och vatten och om byggande. och vatten och om byggande. med beaktande av den enskilda med beaktande av den enskilda människans frihet främja en sam- människans frihet främja en sam- hällsutveckling med jämlika och hällsutveckling med jämlika och och en god och långsiktigt hållbar och en god och långsiktigt hållbar livsmiljö för människorna i dagens livsmiljö för alla människor, såväl samhälle och för kommande gen- barn som kvinnor och män, i dagens samhälle och för kom- När program utarbetas och när När program utarbetas och när heten och kommuner som berörs heten och kommuner som berörs Sakägare och de bostadsrätts- Sakägare och de bostadsrätts- havare, hyresgäster och boende som berörs av programmet eller som berörs av programmet eller 2Senaste lydelse 1993:419. 3Senaste lydelse 1995:1415. intresse av programmet eller för- slaget skall beredas tillfälle till sam- råd. intresse av programmet eller för- slaget skall beredas tillfälle till sam- råd. Vid samrådet skall kommunen aktivt verka för att även barn ges möjlighet att delta och att deras åsikter tillmäts betydelse.