Dropmore Infant School headteacher calls for speed limit drop over children’s safety concerns

A headteacher from Buckinghamshire is calling for speed limits around her school to be reduced to 20mph after concerns for the safety of children and their parents. Gitta Streete, the headteacher of Dropmore Infant School, has tried to campaign for the speed limits but had her request land on deaf ears.

Charity Brake, who campaign on road safety, has backed her pleas, saying that such speed reductions could “save lives”. Many roads around the school, which is located between Beaconsfield and Burnham, have limits as high as 60mph.

Last year, Department for Transport figures showed that 2,456 children aged under 16 were killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads last year. Ms Streete, who continues to campaign for the speed limits around the Dropmore school to be reduced, told PA: “What we often hear back is that because no-one has been seriously hurt or killed on that road, there is no need to make any changes.

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“One parent had their car door taken off by a passing car. That could easily have been a child, parent or carer being hit. What we need is a proper, phased speed reduction system: a reduction to 20mph outside the school and safe areas for everyone to walk along and cross the road.”

In response to these calls for speed limit reductions, Buckinghamshire Council reassured residents that they take road safety “incredibly seriously”. Steven Broadbent, Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for transport, said he is “very much aware of the concerns that have been raised” in relation to Dropmore.

Mr Broadbent told PA: “We want to continue working as closely as possible with them and all schools to ensure all students have safe passage to and from school.” According to the charity Brake, nearly two-thirds of parents reported that some roads near their children’s schools have higher limits than 20mph, including in areas where there are no pavements.

Discussing the specific example of Dropmore Infant School in Buckinghamshire, Brake campaigns manager Lucy Straker said: “Dropmore’s situation is being replicated across the country. We speak to lots of schools where teachers are doing everything they can to make the roads near their school safe, but ultimately they need support from their local council and decision-makers.

“Why do we have to wait until a child is killed before we act? We know that excess speed is a factor in about a quarter of fatal crashes, and the physics is pretty straightforward: the faster a vehicle is travelling, the harder it hits and the greater the impact.

“A crash at 30mph has twice the amount of kinetic energy as a crash at 20mph. Reducing speed saves lives. We’re calling for roads around every school to have 20mph speed limits – and other measures to effectively reduce traffic speed – so children and their families can travel safely to and from school every day.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “Local authorities in England decide speed limits on their roads but we always encourage road designs that prioritise safety. There are no plans to introduce default or national 20mph speed limits in urban environments.”

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