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The
Guardian recently (24 September) quoted a report
from the Institute for Public Policy Research that
showed that children from the UK's most deprived neighbourhoods
are three times more likely to be knocked down by
cars. The report found that in 1999 and 2000, 8000
children were killed or injured on the roads in Britain's
poorest 10% of council wards compared to just 1000
casualties in the richest wards. The number of children
in poor wards have 2.2 casualties per 100 000 children
compared to 0.6 in rich areas.
Although
figures for the North of Ireland were unavailable,
statistics would certainly show that children living
in working class areas in Belfast or elsewhere are
three times more likely to be knocked down than those
living in Cherryvalley or Holywood for example. Those
of us leaving in West Belfast will have probably heard
of efforts by local people to stop joyriding. It is
not surprising that campaigns like that are started
in working class areas, better off districts are not
plagued by joyriding and would not feel the need to
organise against the problem. As strange as it may
sound, road safety, car accidents and car crime are
class issues.
It
is not due to fate or chance that some children are
three times more likely to be injured or killed in
road crime/accidents. It is due to a particular form
of social and economic organisation that condemns
large sections of the population to marginalisation.
At least three effects from socio-economic marginalisation
put people at risk on the roads. Kids in poor areas
are more at risk, because having nowhere to go, they
are constantly standing in the streets. Anybody driving
down the Malone Road will not find huge number of
children hanging on street corners. Secondly, joyriding
is a typical working class phenomenon. Thirdly, the
richer the area, the better road facilities tend to
be (traffic lights, crossing, etc).
It
is time that socialists and republicans take the road
issue seriously. Eight thousand working class children's
lives are at stake. The problem is preventable.
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