TY - JOUR PY - 2023// TI - Child pedestrian crossing behaviour and associated risk factors in school zones: a video-based observational study in Kampala, Uganda JO - Injury prevention A1 - Osuret, Jimmy A1 - van Niekerk, Ashley A1 - Kobusingye, Olive A1 - Atuyambe, Lynn A1 - Nankabirwa, Victoria SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - BACKGROUND: Pedestrian crashes, often occurring while road crossing and associated with crossing behaviour, make up 34.8% of road casualties in Uganda. This study determined crossing behaviour and associated factors among child pedestrians around primary schools in Kampala, Uganda.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2022 among 2100 primary school children. Data on their crossing behaviour were collected using video recordings from cameras staged at the crossing points of 21 schools. We estimated prevalence ratios (PR) with their corresponding 95% CIs using a modified Poisson regression model for the association between unsafe behaviour and the predictors.

RESULTS: The prevalence for each of 5 unsafe child pedestrian behaviour was 206 (25.8%) for crossing outside the crosswalk, 415 (19.8%) for failing to wait at the kerb, 238 (11.3%) for failing to look for vehicles, 361 (17.2%) for running and 235 (13%) for crossing between vehicles. There was a higher likelihood of crossing outside the crosswalk when an obstacle was present (adjusted PR (aPR) 1.8; 95% CI 1.40 to 2.27) and when children crossed alone (aPR 1.5; 95% CI 1.13 to 2.06). Children who crossed without a traffic warden (aPR 2; 95% CI 1.40 to 2.37) had a significantly higher prevalence of failing to wait at a kerb.

CONCLUSION: These findings reveal the interaction between child pedestrians, vehicles and the environment at crossings. Some factors associated with unsafe child pedestrian behaviour were the presence of an obstacle, crossing alone and the absence of a traffic warden. These findings can help researchers and practitioners understand child pedestrian crossing behaviour, highlighting the need to prioritise targeted safety measures. SR2S

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1353-8047 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-044932 ID - ref1 ER -