Understanding the Challenges Facing Child Pedestrian Trauma in Victoria 2000-2010

Abstract

Crashes involving pedestrians are severe in nature due to pedestrians’ vulnerability, lack of protection and limited biomechanical tolerance to violent forces if hit by a vehicle. Children are thought to constitute a high-risk sub-group. This paper provides an analysis of serious casualty child pedestrians in Victoria and highlights some important features of these collisions. The findings show that young children (especially males) are at significant risk of serious injury, that the majority of collisions occur on urban roads with speed limits of 50-60km/h, and that (for older children) crossing the road at midblock sections without the aid of pedestrian crossings and (for younger children) emerging from parked vehicles are predominantly problematic. The implications of these findings are discussed, particularly with regard to developing targeted initiatives within the Safe System framework that may achieve significant reductions in child pedestrian injury crashes.