Maximising parent involvement in the pedestrian safety of 4 to 6 year old children: December 2005

In Australia, pedestrian injury is the leading specific cause of death among five to nine year old children (AI Yaman, Bryant & Sargeant 2002). In 1999-00 in Australia, there were 1,144 hospitalisations of children aged 0-14 years for pedestrian injuries, with a hospitalisation rate of 29.1 per 100,000 children. These rates decreased with age and were lowest for children aged 1 0-14 years. Pedestrian injuries among 0-14 year olds in 1999-00 were the second highest cause of hospitalisation in children (AI Yaman, Bryant & Sargeant 2002). While fatalities from pedestrian injuries among children 0-14 years have declined from 3.7 per 100,000 children in 1991 to 2.7 in 2000, the reductions are mostly among 10-14 year olds rather than those aged 1-4 years (UNICEF 2001 ). In WA this may be a result of road safety initiatives targeting older children