Developing child road safety indicators for communities

Abstract

Background In Israel similar to the European region road traffic injuries are the leading cause of injury-related death and disability in children age 1–17. Children are vulnerable road users in the community travelling to school, parks and other neighbourhood destinations. Limited cognitive, behavioural and physical abilities make children more susceptible to injuries where infrastructure and interventions are not designed to promote road safety. Objective Develop Child Road Safety Indicators for Local Communities and a general assessment method to diagnose and promote child road safety issues in local communities. Methods Over 100 quantitative and qualitative indicators were developed in a 2 year-long series of working meetings with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, policy makers, engineers and child safety experts. A study was conducted in four municipalities. Indicators were measured for each municipality based on child injury data, behavioural observations, KAP surveys, management analysis, infrastructure and walkability assessments and surveys of children's trips. Analysis was conducted to create a composite indicator of child road safety in a city. Results The indicators provide detailed assessment of child road safety issues in each municipality and allow for comparison across communities. Findings also point to variations between individual municipalities and national data, for example, the national survey of child safety restraints indicates 88% use while municipality survey results ranged 36–92% use. A set of essential child road safety indicators was compiled. Future assessment in a larger sample of municipalities will allow for further development of indicators and adjustments to the assessment method.