Council review warns school travel risks and data gaps after 155 serious casualties
A new Rotherham Council review into school road safety has revealed that 155 road casualties in the borough were recorded as either serious or fatal in a single year, prompting calls for action on parking, enforcement and safer crossings around schools.
Department for Transport figures for 2024, cited in the council’s report, show that of those 155 casualties, six were fatal and 149 resulted in serious injury. The review — prompted by concerns from councillors and parents — examined the causes of danger to children and families arriving at and leaving school.
Engagement with schools was described as "limited" in the report, but where views were gathered a number of recurring concerns emerged. These included parents parking dangerously close to school entrances, vehicles stopping late which led to children crossing roads unsafely, and general risks to pedestrians from the behaviour of motorists at peak times.
- Dangerous parking and stopping around school entrances
- Traffic congestion at pick-up and drop-off times
- Unsafe crossing conditions and near-miss incidents involving children
The review also pointed to existing traffic management measures — such as school keep-clear zig-zag markings, yellow lines and advisory 20mph zones — being ineffective without proper enforcement. It warned that current collision records do not capture the full picture, failing to record near misses and unsafe behaviours and so not showing which schools are at greater risk.
“Crucially, the statistics highlighted a worrying trend – serious incidents and road casualties involving younger children have been rising.”
The comment came from Conservative councillor Adam Tinsley, who brought a motion to the council in November 2023 calling for stronger action to improve school road safety. The review lists a range of measures under consideration, including targeted steps to tackle illegal and inappropriate parking, timed vehicle restrictions at drop-off and pick-up, promoting walking and cycling, and installing safer pedestrian crossings where needed.
However, the report underlines a practical obstacle to swift change: limited funding streams for borough-wide initiatives, physical infrastructure alterations and enforcement activity. That funding constraint frames the council’s choices about what measures can be delivered and at what pace.
| Metric | Number |
|---|---|
| Fatal casualties (borough, 2024) | 6 |
| Serious casualties (borough, 2024) | 149 |
| Total serious or fatal casualties | 155 |
Local councillors on the review group highlighted a cluster of practical problems that residents will recognise from day-to-day: illegal parking, queuing traffic at school gates, and pedestrian crossings that do not feel safe for children. They say these issues are compounded because the available accident statistics do not reflect the scale of risk experienced by families, particularly in terms of near-miss events.
The review sets out an inventory of potential interventions, but it is clear that moving from review to delivery will require both targeted enforcement and capital investment. Options mentioned expressly in the report include enforcement of existing restrictions, new timed vehicle controls during school runs, and improved pedestrian infrastructure to prioritise children’s safety.
For parents and schools across Rotherham the findings will sharpen focus on behaviours at the roadside as well as on the need for more robust data collection. Without clearer evidence of where near misses and dangerous behaviour are concentrated, it will be difficult for the council to prioritise limited resources effectively.
The council report therefore functions as both a wake-up call and a planning document: it records a high number of serious casualties, restates familiar local concerns about parking and congestion at school gates, and sets out possible measures — but implementation will depend on political will, enforcement capacity and available funding.
Residents and school communities will be watching closely for the council’s next steps, and for any proposals which move beyond review and into funded programmes or enhanced enforcement that could reduce the risks for children on Rotherham’s roads.
