Every school day in the UK, 23 children are run over and hurt when walking or cycling to or from school and four of these children are killed or suffer serious, sometimes life-long, injuries. 

That is 713 children killed or seriously injured walking or cycling to school each year. Death on the road is the biggest non-medical killer of school aged children, greater than drowning, falls or accidental poisoning combined.

So it should come as little surprise that in excess of 100,000 children from 600 schools across the UK are marching for road safety today as part of the charity Brake''s Giant Walking Bus.

The event aims to celebrate the benefits of walking and calls on drivers to ‘GO 20'' - slow down to 20 or below around homes, schools and shops - to protect kids on foot and enable more to walk. It also calls for more safe walking and cycling measures such as widespread 20 limits and safe pavements, paths and crossings.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake, the road safety charity, said: “Many parents are in a difficult situation when it comes to letting their kids walk or cycle, often forced to weigh up the benefits of their kids being active and getting out and about with the risk of their child being knocked down and hurt. We need to make it easier for them by making roads safer for children and people of all ages, to help kids have the fun, active childhood they deserve - and a proven way to do this is to reduce traffic speeds.”

In a survey by Brake of more than 11,000 children taking part in the event, children explained their need for safer streets to enable them to get out more on foot and bike. It found that 76 per cent would walk or cycle to school if roads were made safer, while more than half agreed that their route to school needs to be made safer for walking and cycling. 

Nearly 70 per cent said there was a need for more paths, cycle paths and crossings in their neighbourhood that they can use to walk or cycle to school, the local park, shops or to see friends.

But worse still was the 33 per cent of children who are ‘scared by traffic’ when walking or cycling in their neighbourhood. Across Britain, almost as many primary school children are now driven to school as walk: 42 per cent are driven, while 48 per cent walk and 1 per cent cycle. 

Research shows parents'' concerns for kids'' safety are a barrier to getting more children walking and cycling, impacting on children''s health and contributing to congestion and traffic danger.

The GO 20 campaign - by Brake and a coalition of charities - calls for 20mph to become the norm in built-up areas, and appeals to drivers to slow down, to make roads safer for kids and adults on foot and bike. 

A recent World Health Organisation report on pedestrian safety urged widespread 20mph limits where people live, as they are proven to reduce casualties and encourage walking and cycling.

Julie Townsend added: “We''re appealing to drivers to listen to the thousands of kids marching today, and take the simple step of slowing down to 20mph or less around homes, schools and shops. It''s a case of putting kids before getting there a few minutes faster. We''re also urging the government to work towards 20mph being the norm in all communities, to help kids everywhere get walking without being put in danger.”