Following two awareness campaigns run by the Belgian Institute for Road Safety (BIVV) regarding the dangers facing children on their way to school, the Walloon Minister of Internal and Public Affairs and his ministry (Local Powers Directorate General) took the decision to award grants to those local authorities in Wallonia which put forward well-argued and effective projects for improving safety on roads in the vicinity of schools. There have been a great many submissions received from local councils. This report, a practical manual, is the result. The report deals first with specifics about children and their rights where traffic is concerned, their methods of travelling to and from school, and some statistics on the accidents which happen on the way to and from school. The report then goes on to explain why it is desirable, and in fact necessary, to alter the approaches to schools and describes the joint campaigns undertaken by the BIVV and the Wallon Region. Next, the report uses case histories to evaluate fifty projects carried out in five Walloon provinces. Each case history gives a brief description of the situation on the spot before and after the work was carried out, the actual alterations made and the budget allocated for the work. It also provides an evaluation of the work carried out from a technical and safety point of view, as well as the views and opinions of the various users. Based on this evaluation, an attempt is then made to extract any lessons from the projects and to present a method for approaching the problems of road safety in the vicinity of schools. Finally, the report features a number of appendices summarising the regulations in force, the questionnaires drafted for completion by the local authorities, police, school management and educational community, plus parents and pupils, as well as useful addresses and a bibliography.
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