Sarah Boyack: "We must do better"

They also said that children from poor backgrounds are up to six times more likely to be injured in road accidents than those from affluent areas.

Ms Boyack said the �11.85m package would give Scottish councils the chance to introduce and expand road safety schemes.

"The additional funds I have announced will assist local authorities to make our streets safer through measures such as 20 mph schemes, cycle lanes and pedestrian footpaths," she said.

"The theme of this year's RoSPA Congress is tackling the number of child road casualties as part of the Great Britain Road Safety Strategy.

"Since the early 1980s all fatal and serious child casualties in Scotland have been reduced by more than half but we must do better.

More funding

"The Children's Traffic Club in Scotland stresses the importance of learning about road safety at an early age.

"It is important every three and four-year-old has access to road safety training and the Executive will continue to fund free membership of the club.

Ms Boyack also said that the Scottish Road Safety Council's funding would be doubled over the next three years to allow an increased programme of road safety initiatives.

Mike McDonnell believes the executive could do more

But Mike McDonnell from RoSPA said that there was still much more the executive could do.

"We need to look at educational measures for drivers and children alike - for parents, for teachers, for everyone involved," he said.

"We need to look at engineering, what we can do in the roads environment and in the cars.

"We also need to look at the enforcement arm where the police can actually back up road safety legislation to make sure that more people can complete their journeys safely each day."

During the RoSPA conference delegates were told that Scotland's road deaths are at a 50 year low.

The number of children killed in road accidents fell from 32 in 1998 to 27 in 1999.