CONFÉRENCE EUROPÉENNE DES MINISTRES DES TRANSPORTS
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORTRESOLUTION No. 39
ON THE ROAD SAFETY OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE[CM(79)21]

The Council of Ministers of Transport, meeting in Paris on 23rd November 1979,-- deeply concerned about the large number of children and young people struck down byroad accidents every year in all Member countries;-- noting that 1979 has been declared the “International Year of the Child” by the UnitedNations Organisation;-- taking this opportunity to take stock of everything that the European Conference ofMinisters of Transport has done over 15 years or more to promote the road safety ofchildren and young people;-- also bearing in mind the work of other international organisations in this field;-- wishing to continue this long-term effort with a general recommendation summing up
the thinking on the subject during that period and the new lines of thinking which it
judges likely to improve the situation in this field;

FIRST POINTS OUT:-- that, in June 1974, it adopted a Resolution on road safety problems concerning twowheeled vehicles which contained a series of technical, regulatory, educational and otherrecommendations to make users of the various types of two-wheeled vehicles betteraware of the road traffic hazards they are particularly vulnerable to;-- that, in June 1975, it adopted a Resolution recommending that it be made compulsory unless there is good reason for not doing so - for children to be carried at the rear ofmotor vehicles if they are too young or too small to use seatbelts;-- that, with the co-operation of the Council of Europe, the ECMT organised two joint
conferences of government experts on road safety education in schools (Paris 1963 andVienna 1971);-- that both these conferences gave very good results and helped to give the necessary
impulse at political level to improve the situation in this field;-- that a restricted group of experts of the ECMT and the Council of Europe then met at
Strasbourg in September 1974 to follow-up and, where necessary, co-ordinate theapplication of the proposals and recommendations of the Vienna Conference of 1971 on
Road Safety Education in Schools;-- that, in 1978, discussions were held with the Council of Europe with a view toorganising, at the earliest possible date, another joint conference for the purpose of
taking further action in certain directions and filling certain deficiencies;IS OF THE OPINION that bearing in mind the ECMT’s previous Resolutions, the work done byother international organisations and the main gist of the conclusions adopted by theconferences held in Paris (1963) and Vienna (1971), the action to be taken in the field underreview should pay due regard to the following points:

1. Environmental adjustments to suit children’s psychological and biological development
Such adjustments are concerned with the fact that children’s behaviour differs from that ofadults because their psychological and biological development is not yet complete (involving
difficulties of sight or hearing for perception of traffic situations). They are spontaneous beings, theirreactions are impulsive and their powers of concentration and risk appraisal are slight.
The public authorities concerned should give due consideration to these factors andaccordingly adapt the environment in which children live, that is, by taking measures in such fields asurban planning, road and school construction and traffic regulations, and by banning the parking ofvehicles near pedestrian crossings and in the vicinity of schools and playgrounds.
Barriers, for example, should be erected near schools, i.e. between the footpath and thehighway, to prevent children from running out suddenly and unexpectedly into the road and causing
accidents.
A last point in this connection, is that the creation of ‘residential zones’ where children canmove about and play without constraint and where vehicles can be driven only slowly is a good wayof reducing accident risks considerably. The provision of pedestrian precincts also has greatadvantages in this respect.

2. The role of parents
It must be borne in mind that parents have a pre-eminent role to play in making theirchildren road safety-minded as part of their education. This parental role is particularly important if
children are to learn, at a very early age, elementary principles such as the fundamental difference
between the parts of the road reserved for vehicles or pedestrians or how to cross the road.
Beyond this, parents should gradually extend their children’s knowledge of basic traffic
rules (traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, etc.) and make them better aware of traffic conditions andhazards by direct experience.
It is essential that parents should do this irrespective of what may be done to develop roadsafety education in schools.
Furthermore, parents cannot hope to train their children suitably to cope with road traffic
hazards unless they themselves, throughout this educational process, set a good example both aspedestrians and as drivers, for it must always be borne in mind that children acquire much of theirknowledge by imitating adults.

3. Road safety education as part of school curriculaIf road safety education is to be effective, it should be dispensed as a compulsory subject
systematically and continuously in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. Problems treated2

from a theoretical angle must subsequently be subject to tests in real life, in road traffic itself or ontraining grounds.
The ways and means whereby this road safety teaching should proceed is doubtless part ofthe planning of school curricula, but the details of such arrangements are of lesser importance as longas this education is in fact effectively dispensed.
A minimum number of hours, between 10 and 20, should be allocated for road safety
education on the basis of the scale drawn up by the Vienna Conference in 1971 for the different
classes and levels.

4. Content of road safety education
In the main, the outline programme approved at the 1963 Conference in Paris, which divided
subjects by age groups (5-10 / 10-15 / over 15) should be applied.
The primary object of road safety education should be:•

to instill the knowledge that is necessary for compliance with road traffic and safety
rules in children’s own interests and those of others;•to teach the right behaviour in the various traffic situations and to make children
aware of the importance and utility of road safety measures so that they may become
responsible road-users.

5. Methods to be applied
This is a matter for the education authorities, but attention can be drawn to the use ofpresent-day facilities such as audio-visual aids and all the handbooks and instructions for practical
exercises that are now widely available. It need hardly be said that the value of the education
dispensed depends on how far the teachers themselves are suitable trained;

6. Safety on the way to and from schoola) Parents and educational authorities should be urged to ensure that pupils wear brightcoloured clothes and reflective or luminous safety devices.
Parents should be encouraged to accompany their children to school, particularly theyoungest, or have them accompanied, and then gradually get them used to going on their own.
b) School patrols (of children aged from 14 to 16, police, teachers, parents or seniorcitizens) are recommended to look after children at dangerous points on the road to school and inparticular in the vicinity of the school itself. School patrols not only provide better safety for theirmembers, they also improve their road safety education and give them more sense of responsibility.
c) School bus services should be promoted, notably for very young children, and more
especially if the school is some distance away from their homes. Vehicles used regularly for thispurpose should carry rear signplates conforming to Sign A 12 in the Vienna Convention (1968), i.e. a
rectangular panel with black silhouettes of children on a yellow ground.

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To ensure that these services are operated in the safest possible way, special attention should
be given to the qualifications of the drivers concerned, to the roadworthiness of the vehicle, to thesiting of bus stops and to proper supervision of child passengers.
d) Young bicycle and moped-riders should be given special instruction with particularemphasis on their vehicles being properly equipped (so that they can see and be seen at night, be able
to stop, etc.) and on the risks to which they in particular are exposed on densely trafficked roads.
Moped riders should also be recommended or required to wear helmets.
e) Representatives of the local authority, teachers and police, in consultation with parents,
should jointly select a number of routes for children’s journeys on their way to and from school so as
to bypass dangerous roads and enable children to cross the road via traffic light-controlled pedestriancrossings and/or subways.

7. Publicity campaigns for children’s road safety
As children are so vulnerable because of their specific morphological and psychologicalmake-up, notably their spontaneous behaviour and unexpectedly impulsive reactions, the importanceof conducting national road safety campaigns periodically for the benefit of children cannot be overemphasized, whether such campaigns are directed to children themselves, their parents, their teachersor other road users. On this last point, it is particularly necessary that motorists should be urged toexercise special care because of the range of media including posters, press, radio, television or othersuitable means.

8. Co-ordination
In the light of the foregoing considerations, achievement of the desired results will dependon:-- sustained efforts by the authorities, organisations or individuals who have
responsibilities as regards the road safety of children in connection with road trafficproblems;-- continuing co-ordination of these efforts, both in a general sense and through thepractical measures which can be taken in-situ, notably by co-operation between parents,
teachers, local authorities and the police force.

RECOMMENDS that the policy for the road safety of children which is to be adopted and applied in
Member countries should pay due regard to the foregoing guidelines and recommended
measures.

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