Citation

Soole DW, Lennon A. Inj. Prev. 2010; 16(Suppl 1): A67.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/ip.2010.029215.244

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Safety 2010 World Injury Conference, London, Abstract:: Injury to vulnerable road users is a significant public health issue world-wide, with pedestrians and cyclists accounting for 11 to 30% of road fatalities in highly motorised countries such as the US, UK and Australia. Children are particularly at risk due to their still-developing cognitive and perceptual abilities. In Australia, children aged 0-16 year accounted for 10% of all pedestrian deaths, and 18% of all cyclist deaths during 2006-08. Parents are the primary models for childrens early behaviour and their attitudes toward safety have important implications for childrens road safety. As part of a population-based telephone survey on injury prevention, parents of 5-9 year old children (N=147) responded to questions on their beliefs about preventability of injury and appropriate ages for children to cross the road or cycle independently. Parents reported how often they held their 5-9 year old child's hand while crossing the road. Results suggest parents of 5-9 year olds believe that most injuries, including those on the road, are preventable. The majority indicated that children should be at least 8 years old (75%) before being allowed to cross the road on their own at least 10 years old (85%) to cycle independently. Consistent with this, most parents of 5-7 year old reported holding the child's hand when crossing. However, parents were significantly more likely to report holding a boys hand than a girls. Implications for prevention efforts targeted at both parents and children are discussed.