Traffic is one of the biggest causes of death and injury among children.

It is also one of the ways that children are most likely to be suddenly and violently bereaved, losing a brother, sister or other close relative.

Children are the focus during Road Safety Week, which runs until Sunday. Organised by West Yorkshire-based road safety charity Brake, the national event aims to stimulate community involvement in promoting year-round road safety awareness.

A survey of children aged between nine and 13 carried out by Brake and insurance firm QBE found that almost nine out of ten children (85 per cent) across Yorkshire and Humberside think drivers go too fast around their homes and schools.

Shockingly, one in 11 said they had been knocked down while walking or cycling, 62 per cent had a near-miss, and 12 per cent had a scary experience involving traffic.

Last year, 22 children were killed or seriously injured on roads in Yorkshire and Humberside. Sixty per cent of these were youngsters on foot or bicycle. In 2009 in Bradford, there were 2,342 road casualties, 211 of whom were killed or seriously injured – 41 of them children.

Brake is calling on the Government to put in place a strategy and targets to bring child deaths and serious injuries down – with a long-term goal to reduce them to zero – and to make communities safer for children and families to walk and cycle.

The charity believes that lowering the urban limit to 20mph and ensuring speed limits are enforced are key steps towards this.

Officers from a variety of agencies across Bradford are working hard to reduce the number of road casualties with both practical installations on roads, such as speed cameras, humps and pedestrian crossings, and greater awareness.

“We have been working closely with Brake to get the message across to parents and carers, and everyone involved with children,” says Davina Hartley, child accident prevention co-ordinator with the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board.

The board – made up of representatives from various agencies including the fire service, health organisations, police and the Council – is hosting an event next Wednesday in Bingley Market Square.

Infant car seat vouchers worth more than £80 will be available for pregnant women claiming benefits. These will help mums-to-be to buy first-stage seats for £10.

In Queen Street car park, free car seat checks will be made to ensure they are fitted correctly. And at Bingley Library in Myrtle Walk, storytelling sessions will take place.

Fire officers will stage an exercise to free someone trapped in a crashed vehicle. “We will be demonstrating how vital it is to wear seat belts,” says Steve Richings, West Yorkshire Fire Service assistant divisional commander for Bradford district.

“Road safety awareness is crucial – nine times as many people are killed in car crashes than house fires, so it forms a core part of our work.”

Statistics show that speeding drivers are among the biggest causes of child deaths and injuries. One of a series of hard-hitting posters produced by Brake shows a 13-year-old schoolgirl who lost a leg after being hit by a speeding car.

To mark Road Safety Week, neighbourhood policing teams will be employing speed detection guns in certain areas.

Throughout the year, many initiatives have been carried out by Bradford Council in partnership with other agencies. These include schoolchildren issuing ‘parking tickets’ warning parents of bad driving.

On Friday, a road safety awareness day will be held at Hollingwood Primary School in Great Horton. “Parents will be invited into school to get information on road safety and seat- belt wearing, and there will be sessions for children throughout the day,” says Marie Copley, Bradford Council’s area development officer for Great Horton and Queensbury.

The Council’s road safety team teaches pedestrian training to more than 3,500 pupils every year.

“We are offering sessions for parents too,” says senior road safety officer Huma Boskani.

Casualty reduction and road safety partnership manager Sue Snoddy adds: “We are getting the message across to drivers and pedestrians and it is hitting home.”

Caroline Perry, campaigns officer at Brake, says: “It is unacceptable that so many children die and suffer appalling injuries on our roads. Children are appealing to drivers to slow down.”