Children safety concern.

BRITAIN is still some way behind other countries in child pedestrian safety, a Government spending watchdog said today.

The Government needs to set separate targets for those killed and those seriously injured on the roads, the report from the National Audit Office (NAO) said.

The Department for Transport (DfT) needs to work with a number of different organisations to meet its road safety objectives, the report said.

The report - Improving Road Safety For Pedestrians And Cyclists In Great Britain - said the DfT was on track to meet its 2010 road safety targets.

But the NAO said that while Britain was fifth overall for the least number of road deaths per head of population internationally, it was only 11th out of 24 in the developed OEDC countries for pedestrian deaths, with the latest figures being for 2006.

For child pedestrian deaths Britain ranked 17th, some way behind the best.

Out of 14 European countries in 2006, Britain had the fourth least cyclist deaths.

The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads fell from 2,000 to 2004 but rose by 11% from 2004 to 2007.

Compared with figures for the mid-1990s, there has been a slower rate of decline in road deaths (18%) than serious injuries (37%).

The report said: "To increase transparency, the DfT should set separate targets for those killed and seriously injured and for different road user groups.

"To meet its road safety objectives, the DfT needs to work with a number of different organisations."