School zones: a critical challenge for road safety

A particularly sensitive part of the road network

School zones are among the most sensitive areas of the road network.

Every day, they concentrate a high number of vulnerable road users, including children, parents, cyclists at specific times, often in environments not originally designed to handle such intense and complex interactions.

Despite decades of progress in road safety, areas around schools remain exposed to elevated level of risk.

According to the Department for Transport (GOV.UK, 2024), speed is a contributing factor in 59% of fatal road collisions in Great Britain, making speed management particularly critical in environments where children are present.

GOV.UK data also consistently identifies children as one of the most vulnerable groups among road users in urban environments, especially during peak travel periods such as school start and end times.

Understanding why these locations are critical and how to act effectively is now a priority for public authorities.

schoolchildren crossing a pedestrian crossing

Why school zones require specific attention

Road environments around schools combine several risk factors.

Traffic peaks occur during short, predictable time windows, while children move unpredictably, often crossing roads, cycling or walking in groups. At the same time, parents’ vehicles, buses and local traffic converge in limited space.

This concentration increases the likelihood of conflicts between vehicles and vulnerable users. Even when overall traffic volumes are moderate, the mix of speeds, behaviours and road users creates a level of exposure far higher than on standard urban streets.

Importantly, risk in school zones is not only a matter of driver behaviour. Road layout, visibility, parking pressure, crossing design and speed management all play a decisive role in shaping safety outcomes.

Lower speeds, safer outcomes: the impact of 20 mph zones

Speed remains one of the most critical factors in collision severity, particularly where children are present.

In school environments, even small reductions in speed can significantly lower both the likelihood of a collision and the severity of injuries when one occurs.

This is why 20 mph zones around schools have become a cornerstone of road safety policy in many UK authorities. Lower speeds give drivers more time to react, reduce stopping distances and significantly improve survival rates in the event of a collision involving a child.

However, signage alone is rarely sufficient. The effectiveness of lower speed limits depends on how the road environment supports them through layout, design cues and consistent enforcement.

The hidden danger zones around schools

Not all risks around schools are immediately visible.

Data shows that the most dangerous locations are not always directly in front of school gates. Instead, risk often concentrates in less obvious areas:

Junctions just outside school zones
Drop-off and pick-up areas where manoeuvres are frequent
Streets used as informal shortcuts during peak hours
Crossings with limited visibility

These hidden danger zones can remain overlooked if safety assessments focus only on reported incidents or school frontages. As a result, interventions may miss the locations where risk actually builds up.

Using data to understand where risk really concentrates

To improve safety around schools, public authorities need more than general principles they need a precise understanding of where, when and why risk increases.

Mobility and road data make it possible to analyse actual speeds, traffic patterns and interaction points across the wider school environment. This approach helps identify zones where drivers struggle to adapt their behaviour, where speeds remain too high, or where road design creates ambiguity.

By moving beyond isolated incident analysis, authorities can adopt a proactive approach, addressing risk before serious collisions occur.

Supporting safer school environments with MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence

MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence supports public authorities in analysing road risk around schools through data-driven insights.

By combining speed analysis, behavioural indicators and detailed knowledge of road environments, we help identify critical zones, assess the effectiveness of existing measures and guide targeted interventions.

This approach enables authorities to prioritise actions where they will have the greatest impact whether adjusting speed management, redesigning specific road sections or improving the consistency of school zone treatments.

Protecting the most vulnerable where it matters most

Children are among the most vulnerable road users, and school environments are among the most complex.

Improving safety around schools requires a combination of lower speeds, better-designed infrastructure and a data-driven understanding of how risk actually manifests on the ground.

By focusing on the real conditions that shape behaviour and exposure, public authorities can create safer school zones not just at the gates, but across the entire surrounding network.

👉 Looking to better understand road risk around schools and identify priority areas for action? MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence can support you with data-driven insights.

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