Letter: Safety in risk

Sir: Fears for the future safety of children expressed by Jackie Lang, president of the Girls' Schools Association ("Let children take more risks, says school head", 27 November), are shared by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

We are only too aware that Mrs Lang's assertion that "we may be rearing a generation incapable of assessing risks for themselves" is coming true. Children perpetually shielded from dangers in life will not be able to make the correct judgements when they are eventually allowed out on their own or, indeed, when they reach adulthood.

That is why we encourage parents to abandon their cars whenever possible and to walk their children to school at every opportunity. In that way, they can teach them road safety lessons along the way and point out possible hazards on their route. Many local authorities provide child pedestrian skills training and parents should encourage their children to take part in such exercises.

DAVID ROGERS

Road Safety Adviser

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

Birmingham