In many OECD countries, road-related crashes are the number one killer of children under the age of 15. Since the last OECD report on children's transport safety was published in 1983, an estimated 100000 children have perished in road-related crashes. At current rates, one child out of every 2100 will die before their 15th birthday in a road-related incident, and a considerably higher number will suffer severe injuries or lifelong disabilities. Many such fatalities would be avoided if all OECD member countries adopted practices known to be effective in improving children's road safety. This report outlines the progress that has been made in OECD countries in the last 20 years. It provides the latest statistics on children's injuries, fatalities and trends in transport. It considers the relative levels of risks in OECD countries and the casualty reduction programmes and strategies that can improve children's road safety. It also identifies practices drawn from member country experience that have proven to be most effective in improving children's road safety and outlines possible further improvements based on research undertaken. The report then makes a series of policy-oriented recommendations for achieving such improvements in children's road safety. (Author/publisher)
Abstract