Child pedestrian casualties make up by far the largest group of casualties to children on the roads of Britain. This paper draws together reserach from a number of sources, both in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, and aims to identify some of the principle characteristics and circumstances of child pedestrian accidents. Existing patterns of child pedestrian accidents such as their time of day of occurrence, age and gender of those involved, their locations, and differences between countries are examined. Consideration is given to work which has been undertaken on children's exposure, accident risk and behaviour. The paper also outlines the major contributory factors involved in child pedestrian accidents, both from the point of view of the driver and the child.
Abstract