Statistics show that the number of victims in traffic has decreased in most European countries compared with 20 years ago. Also the number of accidents with children between 6 and 12 years of age shows a decline. These facts, however, do not imply that the safety of European roads have increased because child mobility may have been decreased. De Groof (2004) and Mackett (2001) reported that children are more and more transported on the backseat of the car - the so called ‘backseat generation’ - and as consequence are less exposed as active road users. One of the consequences of the decreased participation of children in traffic is that the road infrastructure is in the first place designed for car drivers while the needs of weak road users including children are in some cases not taken into account. A poor design of road infrastructure may result in unpleasant and unsafe environments for children to travel autonomously, leading to even more car use, since parents do not find it safe for their children to travel alone. The parental concerns about the safety and security in traffic restrict the independent exploration of the local environment by the child. Children don't get the opportunity to exercise in real traffic situations, so they can't develop the necessary decision-making skills to safely participate in real traffic situation (Mackett, 2007). This partly explains why the number of accidents in which 12 year old children are involved is exceptionally high: children that make the transition from elementary to secondary school are often exposed to traffic situations as autonomous road users but lack sufficient training in real traffic in the earlier years (OECD, 2004). This finding pleads for an early participation of children in traffic. If young children participated more in traffic by bike or on foot they would develop the necessary safety skills. (Author/publisher) This publication may be accessed by Internet users at: http://www.ictct.org/workshop.php?workshop_nr=26
Abstract