Mobile Mayhem: One in five secondary school pupils hit or narrowly missed by vehicles when on their phones

• Behavioural scientists filming across the UK, recorded 10 per cent of children with their eyes on their phones when crossing the road outside their school
• 1,200 children injured every month in traffic related collisions within 500m of a school
• Churchill Motor Insurance’s ‘Screen down, Eyes up’ campaign highlights the dangers children face when using their phones when crossing the road
• Chartered clinical psychologist, Dr Jessamy Hibberd, explores how roads near schools could be reimagined to divert young people’s attention away from their phones in a series of AI images
• Pupils from Belfast (90 per cent), Norwich (90 per cent) and Bristol (89 per cent) are the worst offenders for using their phones whilst walking near roads

One in five secondary school pupils who use their phone while walking (18 per cent) have either been hit, or involved in a near miss, with a vehicle reveals new research from Churchill Motor Insurance¹. The vast majority (84 per cent) of secondary school children admit to using their phone when walking near roads.

Over half (54 per cent) of children get their first phone in the summer break before secondary school or just as they start. With more than half of children walking at least some of the way to school alone, for the first time when they start secondary school, this September will see many children juggle the distraction of a mobile phone with making their way to school without supervision².

Behavioural scientists analysed mobile phone usage by pupils around schools, identifying the huge number looking at their screens when crossing roads. Researchers filmed a tenth of children studied with their eyes on their phones when crossing the road outside their school. At a secondary school in Edinburgh, half (50 per cent) of pupils were glued to their phones while crossing the road on the way to their lessons³.

The findings come as Churchill Motor Insurance launches its ‘Screen down, Eyes up’ campaign, to raise awareness of the risks of using mobile phones when crossing roads. One in ten (10 per cent) secondary school pupils admit they aren’t aware of the dangers of using a phone while walking near a road. Almost half (45 per cent) of secondary school children with phones think greater education is needed about the dangers of using phones while walking.

Every month, approximately 1,200 children are injured in traffic related collisions within 500m of a school.⁴ With over 95 per cent of children between the ages of 12 and 15 owning a mobile phone in the UK⁵ – 87 per cent of parents see children being on their phone near the roads as a potential danger.

 DRIVING THE DISTRACTIONS

More than two thirds (69 per cent) of children admit they often feel so distracted on the phone when walking that they are unaware of their surroundings. Almost half (45 per cent) of students use their phones to scroll social media while walking, such as to school.

Table One: Top 10 activities students are using their phone for while walking near the roads: 

Source: Churchill Motor Insurance

THE ROAD REIMAGINED FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Partnering with Dr Jessamy Hibberd, a chartered clinical psychologist, Churchill Motor Insurance has reimagined what roads could look like to help grab students’ attention away from their mobile phones.

Dr Jessamy commented: “Children’s experience of the visual world is very different from adults. Younger secondary school children do not combine different sensory information, such as vision and sound, to make sense of the world as adults do. Secondary school children are also more impulsive and do not process risk in the same way as adults, which means that signage directed at them around schools needs to be more noticeable and ‘direct’ to grab attention away from their phones. Bright contrasting colours, simple messages, multiple attention alerts incorporating sound and texture on the ground, are all essential factors to encourage greater attention of the risks when crossing the road.”

Through an analysis of visual cues, such as relatable colours, shapes, pattern, content and positioning that will have the best chance of capturing secondary school children’s attention, Dr Jessamy has devised a five-point recommendation to rethink road architecture to help grab pupil’s attention, which has been brought to life through the help of Artificial Intelligence.  

Table Two: Dr Jessamy Hibberd’s top tips for getting children’s attention away from their phones and onto the roads

Ewan Robertson, Head of News and Issues at Churchill Motor Insurance said: “Many children find themselves distracted by their phones while walking near the road, leading to a worrying number of accidents, including tragic fatalities. In today's digital age, diverting attention away from the screen is a challenge, but one needed to ensure safety when walking. That's why we’ve launched our "Screen down, Eyes Up" campaign to help spark discussions among students and schools, to promote greater road safety awareness.”

Churchill Motor Insurance has shared its latest research with schools across the UK to raise awareness of the potential dangers of children's phone use near roads.

Carly Berry, Principal at Wykham Park Academy said: “We know how important mobile phones are for our pupils; out of school they are key to their social and recreational activity! We also know just how distracting they can be, and we support initiatives aimed at educating young people around the safer use of mobile phones near roads. As a school in the heart of a busy town, we understand the hazard local traffic presents and are keen to mitigate the risks.”

Regional findings Through analysis across different regions, children feel most distracted while walking near the road in Scotland (76 per cent), compared to England (69 per cent) and Wales (65 per cent). However, children in Wales reported a higher percentage of nearly being hit by a vehicle (60 per cent), compared with England (44 per cent) and Scotland (28 per cent).

Across England, Wales and Scotland, a similar percentage of parents have witnessed or heard of an accident taking place because of a child being on their phone while walking near the road, with 48 per cent of parents reporting this in Wales, and 51 per cent in England and Scotland. Pupils are most likely to be using their mobile phones when walking in Belfast and Norwich.  

Table Three: Cities with the most pupils using mobile phones on the roads

Table Four: Cities with pupils who feel they are unaware of the dangers of mobile phone usage on the road

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Consumer Research conducted by Opinium Research between 12th - 22nd April 2024 on a sample of 2,000 UK 11–16-year-olds and their parents

[2] Consumer research conducted by Opinium Research between 23^rd – 27^th August on a sample of 2,000 UK adults (271 of which were parents of 11-17-year-olds)

[3] Observational Research conducted by Intelligent Data on 14^th March across 10 sites in the UK

[4] The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, School Site Road Safety, home-to-school-travel-guide.pdf (rospa.com), 2020

[5] OFCOM, Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes, Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes 2023 (ofcom.org.uk), 29^th March 2023

For further information please contact:

Boldspace

Churchill@boldspace.com

Churchill

Hayley Saunders 

Churchill PR Manager 

Tel: 07814 269915 

Email: hayley.saunders@directlinegroup.co.uk

Churchill

Founded in 1989, Churchill is now one of the UK's leading providers of general insurance, offering car, home, travel and pet insurance cover over the phone or on-line. Churchill general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. UK Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.   Churchill and U K Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc. Customers can find out more about Churchill products or get a quote by calling 0300 200 300 or visiting www.churchill.com.