The Risk of Children Being Involved in Road Injuries
Children aged 0-16 make up an alarming 21% of all road injuries worldwide.
The problem is worse in some countries than others.
What makes kids such a high risk? Researchers have found that children at different ages tend to face risk of different kinds of road injuries.
These seem to be linked to both the size if the children and the way they think.
Parental attitudes may play a factor too.
For children under 3 years of age most car injuries and fatalities occur from reversing vehicles.
Children are small and generally can't be seen in the field of a cars rear vision mirror.
This risk has been shown to be even greater in 4 wheel drive vehicles.
Drivers need to be particularly vigilant if children are likely to be anywhere near driveways.
There is new technology available that increases the field of vision and can warn drivers if an object is behind them, though at this stage it is very costly to purchase.
Car parks are another area of particular danger for this age group up to around 10.
Children in the 3-10 year age group are most likely to be involved in accidents occurring from dashing out onto the road.
At this age many children are still not fully aware of road safety, or simply forget the rules, and will dash out while playing or chasing a dropped object such as a ball.
Drivers often have no warning, but it pays to slow right down if children are around or if you see an object come onto the road.
The other major risk factor for this age group is both their height and physical development.
Kids simply can't see through or over objects in the way.
Their peripheral vision (detecting movement not in the immediate line of vision) is not fully developed at this age either.
In all these instances much depends on the personality of the child and it has been shown that boys are at a higher risk than girls.
11-14 year olds usually have a much better knowledge of road safety, but tend to be more reckless and take more risks.
As they gain control over their world, they test rules and believe themselves almost invincible.
This does of course vary with the individual and these are simply tendencies.
Again boys are at more risk of injury.
Schools often run a regular program of teaching road safety to youngsters, with varying levels of success.
Another incentive, along with teaching road safety, which has shown success, is the 'walking bus'.
Parents volunteer as front and rear supervisors and walk groups of youngsters to and from school in safety.
While these programs are having an effect parents need to be aware of the risk factors that face their kids and teach children road safety themselves.
In the end it is up to parents to decide at what age their individual children are relatively safe in traffic.
Drivers need to be constantly vigilant whenever youngsters are around and keep their speed down.
The faster a vehicle is going, the more likelihood of an accident and the greater the injuries incurred.
The problem is worse in some countries than others.
What makes kids such a high risk? Researchers have found that children at different ages tend to face risk of different kinds of road injuries.
These seem to be linked to both the size if the children and the way they think.
Parental attitudes may play a factor too.
For children under 3 years of age most car injuries and fatalities occur from reversing vehicles.
Children are small and generally can't be seen in the field of a cars rear vision mirror.
This risk has been shown to be even greater in 4 wheel drive vehicles.
Drivers need to be particularly vigilant if children are likely to be anywhere near driveways.
There is new technology available that increases the field of vision and can warn drivers if an object is behind them, though at this stage it is very costly to purchase.
Car parks are another area of particular danger for this age group up to around 10.
Children in the 3-10 year age group are most likely to be involved in accidents occurring from dashing out onto the road.
At this age many children are still not fully aware of road safety, or simply forget the rules, and will dash out while playing or chasing a dropped object such as a ball.
Drivers often have no warning, but it pays to slow right down if children are around or if you see an object come onto the road.
The other major risk factor for this age group is both their height and physical development.
Kids simply can't see through or over objects in the way.
Their peripheral vision (detecting movement not in the immediate line of vision) is not fully developed at this age either.
In all these instances much depends on the personality of the child and it has been shown that boys are at a higher risk than girls.
11-14 year olds usually have a much better knowledge of road safety, but tend to be more reckless and take more risks.
As they gain control over their world, they test rules and believe themselves almost invincible.
This does of course vary with the individual and these are simply tendencies.
Again boys are at more risk of injury.
Schools often run a regular program of teaching road safety to youngsters, with varying levels of success.
Another incentive, along with teaching road safety, which has shown success, is the 'walking bus'.
Parents volunteer as front and rear supervisors and walk groups of youngsters to and from school in safety.
While these programs are having an effect parents need to be aware of the risk factors that face their kids and teach children road safety themselves.
In the end it is up to parents to decide at what age their individual children are relatively safe in traffic.
Drivers need to be constantly vigilant whenever youngsters are around and keep their speed down.
The faster a vehicle is going, the more likelihood of an accident and the greater the injuries incurred.
