An initial phase of our research showed that younger children (6-7 year olds) and those with poor or under-developed functional skills may be at higher risk of crash involvement, compared with older children with well developed skills. While education is considered an essential tool to teach children road safety skills, current programs may be limited because they may not target specific skills and are not tailored for those who are most in need of training. A practical education and training program using a simulated road environment was developed that aimed at improving road-crossing skills amongst children most at risk. The training provided intensive positive and negative feedback on road-crossing choices and focussed on identification of safe traffic gaps, and assessing time gap rather than distance or speed alone when making crossing judgements. The effectiveness of the training package was assessed using a case-control study design, and compared road-crossing responses prior to, immediately after, and approximately one month after training. The results show that the training program is a safe and effective way to improve childrens road-crossing skills. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E216178.
Abstract