Despite a decrease in the frequency of accidents, the proportion of children as casualties in accidents with cars has remained relatively stable. As a result, the project 'Schütze deinen Co-driver' (safeguard your co-driver), funded by the 'Österreichischen Verkehrssicherheitsfond' and implemented by KFV (Austrian Road Safety Board) and the organization 'Grosse schützen Kleine', focuses on children (up to age 14) as car passengers. Particularly, the project looks at drivers being distracted by children, a phenomenon that has not received much attention so far. The goal of the project was to develop measures to increase awareness and, as a result, reduce accidents with children in the car as well as the degree of the injuries. As a first step, an analysis of traffic accidents and injury patterns as well as surveys of children and parents served to determine the baseline for future measures. An empirical investigation (titled Naturalistic Driving) was then used to define the problems in connection with securing children in the car and being distracted by them. For this purpose, nine vehicles were equipped with a video system and measuring instruments. Based on insights won from this investigation, awareness raising measures (such as personal consults and informational brochures) were deduced and tested. (Author/publisher)
Abstract