CHILD ROAD SAFETY Andrew Colski Road User Safety

CHILD ROAD SAFETY Andrew Colski, Road User Safety Division, Df. T

Casualty types • Pedestrians account for more than 60 per cent of child KSI casualties. • Around two thirds of child KSI casualties are male • Almost half of all child KSIs are aged 12– 15 and casualty rates in this age group are much higher than for younger children. • The number of KSIs has fallen less than for other child age groups, by around 45 per cent since the baseline.

Child 0 -15 KSI casualties by type GB 2007

Child 0 -15 KSI casualties by age GB 2007

International comparisons • While GB has a good road safety record overall, our performance on child deaths, and in particular child pedestrian deaths, compares less well with other countries. • Reasons for this include environmental and behavioural factors • more pre-1914 housing, • more journeys involving main roads to get to school, shops, leisure etc, • more children living on or near main roads, • more children out unaccompanied and at an earlier age. • Our performance on child pedestrian deaths is improving – but so are other countries.

Disadvantage • Disadvantage remains a factor, especially for child pedestrian casualties. • The pedestrian casualty rate (all severities) for those aged under 17 is around four times greater for those living in the 10% most deprived areas than in the 10% least deprived areas. • Similar reasons - environment and behaviour