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Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major but neglected public health problem requiring concerted multi-sectoral efforts for effective and sustainable prevention. Every year in Europe around 127,000 people are killed and at least 2.4 million people are injured in road traffic accidents. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death and severe injuries among children aged 0–14 years and are the cause for 34% of child injury deaths annually.
- This includes pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicle passengers. An estimated 200,000 families per year suffer from the death or lifelong disability of at least one family member due to a road traffic injury in the European Union (EU).
- EU Member States are performing very differently in regards children’s road safety. This explains why there is a 3 times greater risk of a child dying due to a road traffic injury in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia than the best performing countries in Europe, such as Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK4. (Fig.1)
- Youth 15 to 19 years is composed of young drivers and co-drivers being the group at most risk. The risk increases steadily with the age as the active participation of children and youth in traffic increases. In the age group of 15 to 19 years, 75% of the fatalities due to road traffic injuries are male. The proportion of boys killed increases steadily with the age. (Fig. 2)
- The proportion of fatal road accidents on all causes mortality tends to be higher in high-income countries because in low income-countries injury mortality due to other causes (like drowning) is more prevalent. Approximately 45% of all fatalities caused by injuries are road traffic injuries in the age group 0-19 years. They represent nearly 13% of all fatalities in this age group in the EU27. (Fig. 3)
- Children are particularly vulnerable until the age of 9–10 years, owing to their weak capacity to concentrate attention on traffic. They are considered to be especially vulnerable when motorised traffic is heavy or fast, visibility is limited or drivers’ attention is diverted.
- Child pedestrians and cyclists usually suffer the most severe injuries as a result of road traffic collisions and report more continuing health problems that require more assistance.
- Fatalities and injuries to children under 10 years of age remain high and these casualties occur because nearly half of the children in this age group generally travel in automobiles unrestrained. Although current data are limited, it is estimated that approximately 150 lives could be saved, annually, if those children who are not using child restraints are restrained with lap/shoulder belts. Furthermore, if all those children who are ready for booster seats used them and lap/shoulder belts, an additional 19 lives could be saved every year.
- For children 0 to 14 years pedestrian and bicycling deaths and injuries contribute as a major factor risk factor, whereas youth 15 to 19 years have greater use of motorised vehicles and therefore greater risks to deaths and injuries from these causes. ( Fig. 4-7)
- Child safety seats and safety belts, when installed and used correctly, can prevent injuries and save lives. Rear-facing car seats reduce injuries up to 90-95% and forward facing car seats up to 60%6. Unrestrained children are more likely to be injured, suffer severe injuries and die in motor vehicle crashes than children who are restrained.
- The need of the parents to know the most suitable restraint system, how to fit the system correctly to the car and the willingness or financial possibility to spend money to buy/renew the child restraint in time should be perceived as standard behaviour.
- Incorrect use of child safety seats is widespread. Although 96 percent of parents believe they install and use their child safety seats correctly, it is estimated that 80 percent of child safety seats are not installed and used correctly.
- Driver safety belt use is positively associated with child restraint use. In a recent study nearly 40 percent of children riding with unbelted drivers were completely unrestrained, compared with only 5 percent of children riding with belted drivers.
- Child restraint use decreases as both the age of the child and the blood alcohol level of the child’s driver increase.
- Children are up to 29 percent safer riding in the back seat versus the front seat.
- Very positive results have derived from the implementation of rental or loan programmes for infant seats allowing parents all over Sweden, Finland, Germany or the UK to save money and make changes when appropriate for a low fee (or even without any cost).
- Speed cameras have been shown to have a positive cost-benefit of around 4:1. In the United Kingdom the benefits to society from the avoided injuries due to speed cameras were in excess of £221 million compared to enforcement costs of around £54 million. Furthermore there is public support for the use of safety cameras for targeted enforcement as illustrated by the Three-year evaluation report of the national safety camera programme, published in June 2004.
- Airbags pose a risk to children. Children sat in rearward facing seats are closer to the airbag and are especially in danger of being fatally injured if the airbag goes off, and in some countries it is illegal to put a rearward facing child seat in the front where there is an active frontal passenger airbag.
- In addition to physical trauma, motor vehicle injuries can have long-lasting psychological effects. One study showed that 25 percent of children who suffered from traffic injuries and 15 percent of their parents were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
- The use of belts in the United States saves $50 billion each year in medical care, productivity, and other societal costs. Belt non-use costs $26 billion annually. The numbers are not yet known for Europe as a whole.
- Every EURO spent on a child safety seat saves 32 EUROS4.
- Many pedestrian-related injuries occur in driveways when backing up the vehicle, usually a sports utility vehicle. More than half of these occur when children are playing or walking behind a vehicle at the time of injury.
- Toddlers (ages 1 to 2) sustain the highest number of pedestrian injuries, primarily due to their small size and limited traffic experience. More than half of all toddler pedestrian injuries occur when a vehicle is backing up.
- Children living in homes with shared driveways are at significantly increased risk for driveway-related injuries. A fenced play area, physically separated from residential driveways, could reduce the risk of driveway-related incidents by 50 percent.
This information has been taken from the Fact sheet on Road Safety published by the Alliance in October 2006. This fact sheet including the references to the information above is available.
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