A graphic novel warning teens of the dangers of being constantly connected while walking to and from school has been launched ahead of the summer term to make young people think again about their road safety habits in the EV era.

New research from ZenAuto found that 60% of parents of teenagers are petrified at the thought of letting them walk home alone or with friends for the first time with 27% admitting they have little trust in their child’s ability to follow the rules of the road. Nearly a quarter of parents (22%) said the idea of their teen being involved in an accident keeps them up at least one night a week.

And it’s understandable to see why. According to the research, two thirds (67%) fear platforms like WhatsApp, Snapchat and TikTok are monopolising their teens’ attention. Over half (57%) have seen their kids take thoughtless risks while out and about – from looking at their screens instead of the road (62%), stepping into a busy road without thinking (57%) and crossing the road while on a video call (20%). This has got parents so paranoid that half (48%) admit to tracking their kids via GPS or Find My Friends to ensure they get to their destination safely.

One of the key ‘modern’ road safety issues troubling parents is the rise in electric vehicles (48%). Of the 250 teenagers surveyed, just 6% were aware that an EV can accelerate much faster than a petrol or diesel car. In addition to this, EVs are much quieter than petrol/diesel vehicles – a match made in road safety hell for teenagers who are already seemingly often ‘zoned out’, according to the data.

With more than 1.1 million electric vehicles on Britain’s roads – a figure that’s only due to increase – car leasing brand ZenAuto has partnered with acclaimed illustrator, Kingsley Nebechi on a graphic novella that warns teens of the dangers of being constantly distracted while walking to and from home.

Launched ahead of the summer school term to make young people think again about their road safety habits in the EV era Silent Signals aims to upskill teens and alleviate the spike in parental concerns when it comes to their kids’ road habits.

Timely, as official road safety numbers show that children aged eleven and twelve are the most at risk of serious accidents while walking on UK streets, and that many of these incidents happen during the lighter, warmer months1. What’s more, ZenAuto data reveals that the term ‘EV’ has been searched for 82,284 times in the past 12 months. This is significantly higher than any other vehicle search type on their website, with ‘small’ coming in second at 19,963 and ‘hybrid’ at third with 15,097 searches.

Despite 78% of parents speaking to their teens about road safety at least once a month, fears are still overwhelming, with a huge 91% wanting road safety to be taught in schools. In contrast, 64% of teens surveyed are not worried about road safety.

The new graphic novella follows the launch of the Green Car Cross Code in 2022 – a set of updated guidelines from ZenAuto to increase road safety awareness amongst primary school children.

Commenting on the campaign Gemma Bacon, Chief Marketing Officer at ZenAuto, said: “The Green Car Cross Code successfully raised awareness of modern-day road safety dangers amongst some of our youngest and most vulnerable pedestrians. Our focus has now shifted onto pre-teens and teenagers – the forgotten demographic – who have far less exposure to road safety guidance and guidelines than younger children and are starting to make trips to and from their home without the help of a parent or carer.

“Kids in their early teens are the most at risk of serious accidents while walking on UK streets, it’s crucial we prepare them for the EV era and ensure they’re more vigilant than ever. With this in mind, we are passionate about ensuring our teens are aware of modern road safety issues across the country to help keep communities and their loved ones safe.

“We hope the popular medium of graphic novellas – sales of which have jumped hugely in recent years – will help to create better understanding and awareness, helping kids ‘walk the line’ safely. Working with Kingsley has been fantastic as he really understood how to share our change-making messaging in an appealing and exciting way. The novella has been shared with schools and is accessible for kids and parents to easily download and read it.”

Talking about the campaign, Kingsley said: “Given the difficulty of getting teenagers engaged in topics like road safety, a strip feels like an ideal medium for sparking awareness amongst the age group.

“The story was inspired by some of the conversations I used to have with my friends on the way to events when I was younger. My dad always made a big fuss about checking both sides of the road when crossing which made me hyper-aware of the road. Being hyper-aware also saved us a few times when we got distracted by phones as we approached the road. My friends appreciated it at the time but also made fun of me for it too in typical teenage fashion!

“With increasing cars and EVs on the road, now is a really important time to get teenagers engaged in the topic.”

Tips from Parenting Expert Kirsty Ketley: How to Talk to Children About Road Safety

Be a good role model: Act as a good role model by being mindful of how your own road safety can influence your child, and practice what you preach. Every walk, every car or bus journey, is an opportunity to educate your teen or pre/teen on road safety. Teens and pre-teens often find car journeys or being out on a walk, a better time to chat with their parents/carers as they don’t have to be face to face with them, which can make it easier to talk about the bigger, more important things.
Don’t scare them: There is no need to find footage on the internet or tell horrifying stories, to show your child the dangers that are out there – your aim is not to make them fearful, but do be honest about what could happen in certain scenarios. Never underestimate your child though. Have a discussion about what they already know, so that it is more of a two-way chat, rather than a lecture, which reinforces and builds on their knowledge. This will be more engaging for your child, so they will be more likely to listen and take in your advice.
Talk about different vehicles on the road and their risks: EVs are quieter than petrol or diesel vehicles and can accelerate quicker, so kids need to be aware of stopping and properly looking and listening. This is even more important now EVs are becoming more popular on the roads. Kids should also be aware drivers have blind spots which differ by vehicle, and the dangers of walking out between parked cars.
Be smart with tech: Phones are a good way of keeping in touch with your child and tracking their journey, however, they can be a huge distraction and chatting with friends or watching videos can mean that a child’s full attention is not on the road. Having boundaries around phone and headphone usage will help with this. Keeping tabs on the content they are viewing and setting up restrictions can help. Putting a screen time limit can help too, as they will likely opt to use their viewing time once they are at home, rather than out and about.
Peer pressure: Walking with friends is a great way to create ‘safety in numbers’, but it means kids are not always paying proper attention to the road. There can be the temptation to copy or follow their peers in crossing the road in an unsafe way. It’s important kids understand if their friends are doing something which they feel is unsafe and dangerous, they don’t copy, and are confident in making their own decisions. Making sure that you acknowledge when your child has handled a situation in the right way, or made the right decision on something, will help them with their decision-making skills, and also give them a confidence boost. Using positive language can be more helpful in getting children to listen.
Use pedestrian crossings, but wisely: Pedestrian crossings are the safest way to get across a busy road, so it is important kids wait for the lights to change at a pelican crossing – even if they think they can’t hear or see a vehicle coming. At a zebra crossing, they should wait for both sets of traffic on each side of the road to stop. It can be easy for children not to spot EVs if they aren’t stopping or paying full attention.