The authors evaluated the protective effectiveness of speed humps in reducing child pedestrian injuries in residential neighbourhoods. A matched case-control study was conducted over a 5-year period among children seen in a paediatric emergency department after being struck by an automobile. A multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis showed that speed humps were associated with lower odds of children being injured within their neighbourhood (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.47) and being struck in front of their home (adjusted OR = 0.40). Ethnicity (but not socioeconomic status) was independently associated with child pedestrian injuries and was adjusted for in the regression model. The findings suggest that speed humps make children's living environments safer. (Author/publisher)
Abstract