Road accidents are the main cause of fatality
and serious injury to children under the age of 16 in the UK.
Over 33,000 children under the age of 16 were injured in 2003.
171 of these children were killed.
Pedestrian injury is the leading cause of accidental
death, with 74 child pedestrians killed in 2003 in Great Britain.
A further 2,307 were seriously injured. A total of 12,544 children
were injured as pedestrians.
Most pedestrian injuries to children take place near to or on their
way to or from home. Almost twice as many boys than girls are killed
or seriously injured as pedestrians in the UK, which has one of
the highest child pedestrian death rates in Europe.
Cycling injuries and fatalities are less numerous
but still a major cause of accidental death and serious injury.
18 cyclists under the age of 16 were killed in road accidents in
2003, most as a result of being hit by a vehicle. A further 577
were seriously injured. 4,174 cyclists under 16 suffer less severe
injuries in road accidents. 70% of all cycling deaths and over half
of all cycling injuries involve a head injury.
Over 23,000 children go to hospital as a result
of cycle accidents off the roads (i.e. at home, in parks etc.).
The Government has set a target for the reduction of children killed
or seriously injured by 50% by the year 2010.
|
