The pedestrian injury death rate among children ages 14 and under declined 38 percent, and the pedestrian-motor vehicle death rate declined 41 percent from 1987 to 1996. Much of this decline is due to a reduction in exposure to traffic (children are walking less). However, pedestrian injury remains the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14. While the majority of pedestrian deaths and injuries are traffic-related, children from birth to age 2 are more likely to suffer non-traffic-related pedestrian injuries, including those occurring in driveways, in parking lots and on sidewalks. Although pedestrian injuries are not as common as motor vehicle occupant injuries, a disproportionate number of the injuries sustained by child pedestrians are severe.

Children are particularly vulnerable to pedestrian death because they are exposed to traffic threats that exceed their cognitive, developmental, behavioral, physical and sensory abilities. This is exacerbated by the fact that parents overestimate their children's pedestrian skills. Children are impulsive and have difficulty judging speed, spatial relations and distance. Auditory and visual acuity, depth perception and proper scanning ability develop gradually and do not fully mature until at least age 10.

PREVENTION TIPS

• Never allow children under age 10 to cross streets alone. Adult supervision is essential until traffic skills and judgment thresholds are reached by each child.

• Always model and teach proper pedestrian behavior. Make eye contact with drivers prior to crossing in front of them. Don't assume that because you can see the driver, the driver can see you. Cross streets at a corner, using traffic signals and crosswalks whenever possible.

• Instruct children to look left-right-left again when crossing a street and to continue looking as they cross. Children should never run into the street.

• Require children to wear retroreflective materials and carry a flashlight at dawn and dusk.

• Teach children to walk facing traffic, as far to the left as possible, when sidewalks are not available.

• Prohibit play in driveways, in adjacent, unfenced yards, in streets or in parking lots.

• Teach children to cross the street at least 10 feet in front of a school bus and to wait for adults on the same side of the street as the school bus loading/unloading zone.

• Advocate for the implementation of traffic calming measures, separate walkways, limited curbside parking, reduced traffic in residential neighborhoods and lower speed limits.