Child Pedestrian Injuries Report 2007 - 2008 Increased pedestrian numbers actually heighten driver awareness, which results in slower rates of speed and fewer child pedestrian injuries. Safe Kids Canada Child Pedestrian Injuries 2 About Safe Kids Canada Why focus on child pedestrian injuries? Safe Kids Canada is the national injury prevention program Walking is usually a child’s first means of independent of The Hospital for Sick Children.As a national leader, transportation, which makes children particularly vulnerable Safe Kids Canada promotes effective strategies to prevent to pedestrian injuries.The level of danger posed by traffic unintentional injuries, the leading cause of death among exceeds children’s overall cognitive, physical, sensory and children in Canada. By building partnerships and using auditory development.This danger is exacerbated by their a comprehensive approach, we advance safety and reduce small stature, lower eye level and the need to look up and the physical, financial and emotional burden of injuries over vehicles. Obstructions also limit children’s field of on Canada’s children and their families. Our strength vision, decreasing their perception and ability to deal with is that of knowledge broker, turning research into action, oncoming traffic. by providing credible programs and messages. A neighbourhood’s environment and traffic flow contribute Safe Kids Canada works with more than 2,300 partners greatly to the frequency and severity of pedestrian-related across the country to conduct research, raise awareness, crashes. Children are more likely to be struck by a car in educate families and advocate for safer environments areas with heavy traffic volumes, a high density of parked to protect children from injury. Safe Kids Canada is also cars, higher speed limits, and limited choices for play, such part of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global movement to as available green space. prevent childhood injury. Despite the fact that during the past decade the number of 180 Dundas Street West,Suite 2105 child pedestrian deaths and injuries has declined, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8 international research indicates that a major factor for this reduction is that children are walking less.1 Children are www.safekidscanada.ca still considered to be at greater risk of pedestrian injuries 1-888-SAFE-TIP (1-888-723-3847) due to the increased speed and volume of traffic, coupled with their developing cognitive abilities. Report methodology This report is based on an extensive literature review of Many Canadian communities are taking an interest in active national and international academic sources, in addition living to promote good health, in addition to supporting to data from Transport Canada, Statistics Canada and the the environment by leaving the car in the driveway more Canadian Institute for Health Information. often.This may subsequently lead to a renewed family enthusiasm for walking to school. It is vital to encourage parents and caregivers to talk to children about pedestrian safety during these walks, and it is equally important to create more walkable communities that promote safe, pedestrian-friendly environments. Increased pedestrian numbers actually heighten driver awareness, which results in slower rates of speed and fewer child pedestrian injuries. 3 Child Pedestrian Injuries Safe Kids Canada Key facts and statistics Figure 2. Transport Canada: 2000-2004 Average annual • Child pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of injury- pedestrian injuries by age related death for Canadian children aged 14 years or younger. 1400 • Pedestrian-related injuries contribute almost 15 per cent 1200 of all injury-related deaths of children younger than 14 years.2 1000 • On average, 30 child pedestrians younger than 14 years 800 are killed and 2,412 are injured every year.3,4 • Children aged 10 to 14 years have the highest risk Injuries 600 of pedestrian injuries and deaths.5,6 400 Figure 1. Transport Canada: 2000-2004 Average annual 200 pedestrian fatalities by age 0 14 0-4 5-9 10-14 Age group (years) 12 10 8 6 Average 4 2 0 0-4 5-9 10-14 Children are more likely to be struck by a car in Age group (years) areas with heavy traffic volumes, a high density of parked cars, higher speed limits, and limited choices for play, such as available green space. Safe Kids Canada Child Pedestrian Injuries 4 Figure 3. Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI): Diagnoses of pedestrian injuries by injury type 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Other Crush sprains Internal Fracture Strains & superficial Dislocation Contusion/ Unspecified Open wound Injury type (includes deaths and injuries) • A child pedestrian is most likely to suffer injuries to When children are struck by vehicles, their injuries are the lower extremities from hip to toe (34 per cent), often life threatening or cause permanent physical damage. a traumatic brain injury (25 per cent) and injuries to Children of different ages are at risk for different types of the torso (10 per cent).7 injuries because of the child’s physical stature. In children • Fracture is the most common type of injury and the between 10 to 14 years of age, serious injuries occur most common body area injured is from hip to toe. because the body’s center of gravity tends to be above the bumper of the vehicle.The collisions cause three distinct • Internal damage (injury to lungs, liver and spleen) is impacts: the first point of contact is with the leg on the the most common cause of death. bumper, the second point of contact is between the thigh • Traumatic injury to the brain is the most common on the edge of the hood and the third contact is with the body region injured that caused death. head and shoulders on the hood and windshield.As the • Overall, lower extremity injuries occur more frequently vehicle’s speed increases, so does the force of these than upper extremity injuries.8 impacts.At high speeds, the increased momentum forces • More than half of all child pedestrian deaths and most the legs to rotate above the head before falling back onto injuries (95 per cent) happen in urban areas.9* the hood, and at even greater speeds, the child somersaults into the windshield or roof.10 * Note: Transport Canada defines urban as: (a) metropolitan roads and streets and other urban areas, or (b) a speed limit at the collision site of 60 km/hr or less Rural includes: (a) primary or secondary highways, as well as local roads, or (b) a speed limit at the collision site exceeding 60 km/hr. Note that in Alberta and Saskatchewan, urban includes any area within the corporate boundaries of a city,town, village or hamlet. Rural includes any area outside of what is defined as “urban”. 5 Child Pedestrian Injuries Safe Kids Canada In children nine years of age and younger, the centre of Table 2. Transport Canada: Percentage of pedestrian fatalities gravity is often below the bumper, so that the child’s chest by striking vehicle or head is the first point of contact with the bumper, rather than the legs.The child is then vaulted away from Vehicle Percentage of fatalities the vehicle, which results in a second impact as the Passenger cars 57 child hits the ground.At slightly slower speeds, it is more Light trucks & vans 25 likely that the child will not fall far from the vehicle, Heavy trucks 10 which increases the risk of the child being run over.11 Bus 3 Table 1. Transport Canada: 1995-2004 Pedestrian fatalities Other 5 by pedestrian action Passenger vehicles are most often the type of vehicle that injures or kills child pedestrians, followed by light trucks Pedestrian action Age 0-14 (including SUVs) and vans.13 In addition, the highest Intersection 114 number of child pedestrian injuries and deaths occur in Walk with traffic 23 areas where the posted speed limit is 50 km/hr.14 Running into road 59 Safety zone 8 Table 3. Transport Canada: 2004 Pedestrian injury rate Between intersections 6 of children age 0-19 years by province Walk against traffic 7 Play/work on roadway 37 Province Injury rate (/100,000) From behind parked cars 21 Quebec 48.2 Other actions 71 British Columbia 46.5 Unknown 35 Yukon 44.9 Total 381 Manitoba 39.1 Nunavut 37.2 Twenty-nine per cent of child pedestrians younger than Alberta 37.1 14 years of age were killed crossing at intersections Ontario 36.4 with no traffic control, 15 per cent were running on to Nova Scotia 28.9 the road and 10 per cent were playing on the road. Saskatchewan 28.3 The most frequently reported child pedestrian action NWT 25.7 that led to injury or death is crossing at an intersection Newfoundland 24.0 followed by running onto the road.12 New Brunswick 19.3 P.E.I. 17.4 In 2004, Quebec had the highest child pedestrian injury rate for children younger than 19 years of age, followed by British Columbia and the Yukon. In Canada the overall child pedestrian injury rate was 39.5/100,000. Safe Kids Canada Child Pedestrian Injuries 6 Risk Factors Before 11 years of age, children also have a difficult time Children judging vehicle speed18 or even their own walking speed. Children are particularly vulnerable to pedestrian injuries Pre-school children may say,“I’m as fast as a jet” and really because they are exposed to traffic threats that exceed their believe it. Children younger than eight years of age also cognitive, physical, sensory and auditory development, tend to think that smaller cars travel faster than larger cars. and generally, boys are statistically more at risk than girls To judge speed, children need to be able to classify and for all injuries.15 judge a vehicle’s size relative to other objects.19 Detecting traffic requires a search strategy and this is not a reliable When crossing the street, children have to undertake skill until children reach approximately 11 years of age.20 complex behaviours that put them at risk for injury.