Why have child pedestrian death rates fallen?
Open Access
- 26 June 1993
- Vol. 306 (6894) , 1737-1739
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.306.6894.1737
Abstract
Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of childhood mortality and disability. Over the past two decades in Britain child pedestrian death rates have fallen despite large increases in traffic volume. In this paper Roberts examines the likely reasons for this decline. He argues that neither prevention programmes nor improvements in medical care are a plausible explanation and that the decline is most likely the result of a substantial reduction in children's traffic exposure. He believes, however, that restricting children's traffic exposure exacerbates socioeconomic differentials in childhood mortality and denies children their right to mobility. Roberts is convinced that one answer is for British transport policy to be aimed at providing mobility equitably rather than struggling to meet the ever increasing demands of car travel.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- International trends in pedestrian injury mortality.Archives of Disease in Childhood, 1993
- An area analysis of child injury morbidity in AucklandJournal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 1992
- Child pedestrian mortality and traffic volume in New Zealand.BMJ, 1992
- Child poverty and deprivation in the UK.Archives of Disease in Childhood, 1991
- Reflections on the changing times.BMJ, 1990
- Predicting traffic injuries in childhood: A cohort analysisThe Journal of Pediatrics, 1989
- A case-control study of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries in childhood.American Journal of Public Health, 1989
- Risk homeostasis and the purpose of safety regulationErgonomics, 1988
- The epidemiology of road accidents in childhood.American Journal of Public Health, 1987
- Problem identification, implementation and evaluation of a pedestrian safety programAccident Analysis & Prevention, 1982