Scroll down to read or download our guides for adults, children, and carers of children:
- Guides for bereaved families and friends following death on the road
- Coping with grief when someone you love is killed in a road crash
- Support books for children and their adult carers
- Information and advice following serious injury in a road crash
- Welsh translations
- Polish translations
If you don't feel able to read this information yourself, you can ask someone else to read it for you.
You can also get in touch with Brake about anything in these guides, or something not in these guides, or for advice about choosing a solicitor.
If you have been bereaved, the police are required under their official rules to hand out printed copies of Brake’s guides for bereaved people (including guides for children and their carers).
If you have not received these, or if you need extra copies of our guidance for others, call Brake's National Road Victim Service on 0808 8000 401 or email help@brake.org.uk.
Guides for bereaved families and friends following death on the road
Information and advice for bereaved families and friends following death on the road in England and Wales
When someone dies in a road crashInformation and advice for bereaved families and friends following death on the road in Scotland
When someone dies in a road crashCoping with grief when someone you love is killed in a road crash
You can also read a short book about coping with grief when someone you love is killed in a road crash. This book aims to help you cope and protect your mental and physical wellbeing. It is based on the experiences of many people bereaved in a sudden or shocking way, and what helped them.
Click on the link below to download.
English edition (published 2024)
Support books for children and their adult carers
When someone you love dies in a road crash it is a shattering experience, whether you are a grown up or a child. As a parent or carer, it can be particularly difficult to know what to say to bereaved children or how to behave around them.
Someone has died in a road crash is a picture book for children to read with adults after a road death. It uses simple language and colourful pictures to communicate important messages and encourage discussion and honesty between children and their carers. It can help children to understand what has happened and talk about their feelings.
Helping children bereaved by road death is a guide for adults who are caring for children bereaved by a road crash.
To order, email admin@brake.org.uk or ask your police contact.
You can download both books for free. Please click on the links below.
Picture book for children to read with adults after a road death
Guide for adults who are caring for children bereaved by a road crash
Information and advice following serious injury in a road crash
A serious injury caused by a road
crash is sudden, violent, and often has far-reaching effects on the
injured person's life and the lives of their loved ones.
Brake's guidance is for anyone who has been seriously injured in a road crash and anyone helping someone who has been injured in a crash. This includes information on financial, practical and emotional help as well as information on criminal procedures if the injury was caused by someone else driving.