Abstract
Young children have a disproportionate number of pedestrian accidents whilst trying to cross roads near parked vehicles. Three competing hypotheses as to the basis of this problem were tested under controlled conditions. Children aged 6 (N=32), 8 (N=30) and 10 years (N=36) were presented with a two-choice road crossing task, comprising a crossing point bounded by occluding vehicles and a crossing point provinding a clear view of oncoming traffic. At 6 years, choices were random, whereas at 8 years, and especially at 10 years, the clear view crossing choice predominated. There was also a strong associated between preference for the clear view crossing point and experience as an indenpendent road user.