Advice for bereaved children following a death on the road

Children have particular needs following the death of someone close in a road crash. Brake has produced two important, and free, books: a children’s book for children of any age and their adult carers to read together, called ‘Someone has died in a road crash’, which helps children to understand how they are feeling and how to cope; and an accompanying guide for professionals.

Call us on 0845 603 8570 for these two books:

If you are a parent or guardian of a child who has been bereaved in a road crash, you should already have received a free copy of the book for children, ‘Someone has died in a road crash’, from the police. Brake provides all police forces in the UK with free stocks of the books to give to you. If you haven’t received your book from the police, please call BrakeCare’s helpline on 0845 603 8570 and we will send them to you straightaway for free. It is also helpful if we know that you did not receive the book from the police, as this enables us to help the police to improve their services in the future. The helpline can also help answer any queries you may have about supporting children.

If you are a professional carer such as a teacher, a social worker, or health worker, you can obtain additional copies of both books for the subsidised price of ?7.50 for the children’s book and ?4.50 for the accompanying guide for carers. Both prices include p&p. You can order by calling the Brake administration office on 01484 559909. If you have any queries about how to support children, you can also call the BrakeCare helpline on 0845 603 8570. Click here for a PDF flyer about the children’s book and guide.

You can view the books on this web page:

If you need information from the books immediately, or if you want to preview the contents of the books prior to ordering them, you can view them on this web page using the links below. However, printing off a copy of the children’s book is a very poor alternative to using the actual book itself, and is not recommended. Please order the children’s book from Brake if you need it.

Someone has died in a road crash - for adults and children to read together (PDF)
Someone has died in a road crash - guidance notes for professionals (PDF)

Thank you to BBC Children in Need which kindly sponsored the cost of researching and writing these two books, prepared in careful consultation with a range of support agencies.

Thank you to Fentons Solicitors for funding a reprint of these books.