FEARS have been raised more children are being killed and seriously injured on Hull's roads because they are distracted by their smartphones.
Mick Harris, manager of Safer Roads Humber, says drivers face a "nightmare" trying to cope with a generation addicted to mobile technology. He also pins the blame for the rise in the number of deaths and serious injuries on:
• Parents no longer drilling home safety messages to their children.
• Speeding parents who set a bad example.
• Pedestrians crossing roads on red lights and scaling safety fences to save time.
• Apparent reductions in cash spent on road safety lessons in Hull schools.
However, Mr Harris said one of the main problems is with children texting and using social media on their phones.
"It's a nightmare," he said.
"There is a personal responsibility that comes with road safety.
"I think many of us will have been in the situation where we've been turning into a side street and a kid will have a mobile phone in their hand.
"They will look at you as if you shouldn't be there."
Nationally, the issue of children being distracted by their phones has been highlighted in a report by insurance company AXA, with backing from safety partnership RoadSafe.
It states: "There is a clear correlation between the use of technology and the time of serious accidents with children – particularly at the time of leaving school for the day."
The report is based on Department of Transport statistics and a poll of 1,000 eight to 18-year-olds questioned about mobile phone usage.
It notes that a quarter of 11 and 12-year-olds – acknowledged as the "danger group for road casualties" – and about a third of 14-year-olds "reported that they were distracted when crossing a road due to using personal mobile technology".
Mr Harris said: "Parents buy phones for their kids to keep them safe, but of course, they have to be smartphones, and they are used to access Facebook and Twitter.
"This is what is distracting them."
According to Safer Roads Humber, 130 people were killed or seriously injured (KSI) in 2012, compared with 115 the previous year, although a detailed breakdown showing the ages of victims was not available.
Mr Harris said: "The rise has mainly been down to a rise in pedestrian KSIs, which is up 19 per cent on the previous year and pedal cyclist KSIs, which rose by 13 per cent."
Parents have a key role to play in helping drive the figure down, he said.
"At one time, parents would make sure their children get the road safety message," said Mr Harris. "Parents now do not have that same level of responsibility."
He said the problem has been exasperated by cuts to school road safety budgets.
He said: "Over the past ten years that I have been in the job, there have been quite a few cuts in the road safety budget.
"I recognise Hull City Council has had to make difficult decisions. It has suffered the brunt of cuts-backs."
One experienced Hull primary school headteacher, who did not want to be named, said: "Hull City Council's road safety team used to come in school.
"The children would wear hi- visibility coats and they would go out to learn about road safety. That has not happened for three or four years now."
Geoff Parish, a Hull private hire taxi driver, said he encounters near-misses with children every day.
He said: "Every day I see kids playing chicken, jumping in between passing cars.
"You also see some of the older ones looking at their phones when they're crossing the road. Princes Avenue and Newland Avenue are the worst for that."
Andy Burton, Hull City Council's Streetscene manager, said: "While the safety of all road users and pedestrians is paramount we have to make very difficult decisions about where money is spent and we believe this is an important area.
"Road safety education is just one of the areas that make up road safety, others, include good highway design principles, road signage and traffic calming measures.
"Our road safety team are involved in road safety activities in schools such as safer road to schools and Bikeability to educate children about road safely."
The council says overall spending on road safety measures has increased, with £83,000 earmarked for 2013-14, compared with £78,178 spent last year.
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