In Britain, the number of children killed or seriously injured as pedestrians or cyclists peaks between the ages 11 to 14. Monitoring of progress towards the casualty reduction target has also showed that pedestrians aged 11-15 had the slowest rate of decline. This project aimed to investigate police fatal accident files in order to classify the circumstances of the accident, identify populations with a relatively high risk of accident involvement and to determine how fatal accident victims do or do not differ from the general population and where counter measures should be aimed to be most effective. The study found that two-thirds of the children involved in the fatal accident sample were accompanied at the time of the accident. Most (over 70%) of fatally injured accompanied children were in a small group with only one or two child companions. Most fatally injured children were not taking part in extreme risk behaviours. Common types of behaviour involved choosing unsafe places to cross and crossing against traffic lights. Several fatalities also occurred while attempting to cross dual carriageway roads away from crossing facilities. More generally, adolescent behaviour in accident involved situations was not untypical of adult accident situations. Distraction was noted in many cases but arose from a variety of sources. Alcohol was a factor in a small number of child pedestrian accidents but may highlight an increasing trend. Several cyclist fatalities involved riding off the pavement across the roadway. Very few pedestrians or cyclists wore safety clothing. Thirteen per cent of drivers involved in these fatal accidents were prosecuted for careless, dangerous or reckless driving following the accident: nine per cent were convicted. There was insufficient evidence to determine whether the young adolescent fatalities were from lower socio-economic groups. However, analysis of ACORN categories indicated that there were no significant differences in the proportions of fatalities in the categories most likely contain children aged 9-15. This suggests that the relationship between accident, risk and low socio-economic group may decline or diminish in this age group. Relatively few fatalities were reported as having a disability, but it is possible that this is an underestimate as temporary or permanent disability was not routinely reported in the police files. The findings suggest that countermeasures aimed at young adolescents should increase awareness of risk. Distractions are present in a variety of forms so it may be more effective to focus on a general message, rather than highlighting particular distractions. The inappropriate use of dual carriageways and the influence of alcohol in young adolescent pedestrian accidents should also be considered. (Author/publisher)
Abstract