To JS in London, I am all for natural selection. Too bad we have dispupted the natural cycle by making vehicles so safe for drivers that those who ignore the exisitng traffic laws and speed limits are no longer victims of Natural Selection themselves!

S Jones, Lower Horsebridge,

A parent who is responsible and doesn't let their child cross the road unsupervised is apparently exposing them to risk.

If the parent does drum road safety into them and let their child cross alone and that child is then run over and killed, no doubt they will be severely criticised by the media and road safety organisations for being irresponsible.

Claire, London,

The picture accompanying the printed article is very telling - a local bobby, now there's a novelty. Additionally, once again schools appear to be being targetted - as well as now having to try to teach manners, and good beahviour, and how and what to eat, they are now to be forced to undertake this additional responsibility - surely parents must take some responsibility for ensuring their own children can safely cross the road. Or are we to have another school league table - for deaths and near-misses?

Steve Poyntz, OXFORD, ENGLAND

Parents are entirely rational; "road traffic accident" is the single biggest killer of school age children.
Parents and children need safe roads, not patronising nonsense from the DfT, who's failure to make roads safe is itself in large part responsible for the carnage.

doug salmon, Birmingham, England

Liz from Bristol, 10 or 11???? I was crossing the road by myself at 5 or 6, at the latest 7. Who holds their child's hand to cross the road when the child is 10 and what self-respecting 10 year old would allow it?! If parents are so paranoid, their job is to explain why the child needs to be careful, show them how to be careful, look both ways twice, then step into the road, and only cross at the crosswalk if there is one. Jay-walking unnecessarily kills adults as much as it kills children. I do agree that parents driving their kids to school, particularly for only a few blocks, contributes to this problem, as well as to childhood obesity, laziness, and an increased sense of entitlement. Driving teenagers places is part of the deal with teenagers who are too young to drive themselves: mall, movies, friends house. This can be resolved by buying them a) a bus pass and b) a bike.

Sarah, Ottawa, Canada

Interesting how the article doesn't mention the increase in cell phone use while driving as an alternative reason for the increase in deaths. As an adult, I have noticed that there are many more drivers who do not look for pedestrians or bicycle riders because they are otherwise preoccupied.

Ed Brown, Seattle, WA

Increases in speed and volume of traffic through residential areas are factors in the increase in casualties. Cyclists aware of the increased danger have abandoned using the road and now cycle on the pavement. The absence of cyclist on the road has resulted in higher vehicle speeds. Road traffic data show that over 65% of vehicles in this area are over the 30 MPH limit, with a peaks recorded speed 66,2 MPH.

The government has zero commitment to sensible enforced speed limits in residential areas and the casualties on road and pavement will continue unchecked. One thing the government will do is to blame others.

Stan Mack, Birmingham,

Why is it that road safety campaigners always say we need to change driver's attitudes and driver's skills or make changes to the road system to slow traffic down. What about Darwinism? Is this not a form of natural selection? Should the education not be with the pedestrians as they are the ones that 'lose'?

JS, London, UK

A (minor?) contributing factor is the rising number of full-size SUVs which
a) take longer to come to a full stop in an emergency break because of their weight
b) are harder to swivel around in order to avoid a chikd running into the street because of their high center of gravity
c) are more dangerous to children because of their higher front and/or ridiculous accessories such as bull bars

No wonder people prefer to be driven rather than to encounter these rolling nuisances as pedestrians. It's an arms race.

Add to this the fact that speed limits on open roads lead people to race in built-up residential areas, and you get a dangerous environment for children. When did you last see children playing in a street thatr was not a cul-de-sac?

H Rovini, London,

Your opinion please, when did your children first cross roads alone. Love Ma

Martin Rubra, Stevenage,

Well, that's pretty obvious. Someone needed to write an article telling us that being a helicopter parent will make your kids into helpless babies.

Yolanda, Apopka, USA / FL

Rubbish! Careful parents show their child how to cross the road and train them up to do it themselves by the time they're 10 or 11. Parentnoid parents drive lunking great teenagers half a mile to school.

Liz Read, Bristol, UK

Of course, the fact that the two figures are simultaneously on the rise says nothing about whether there is any causal relationship between them. The rate of road deaths of children could be rising for a number of other reasons (more cars in the streets, more extensive use of mobile phones, more additives in children's food, or what have you) and could in fact have been even higher if parents weren't becoming increasingly protective. Not that I doubt that over-protecting children makes them more vulnerable, but producing headlines based on bad science surely doesn't help...

Vassilis, London, UK