engleski

Preschool Children Traffic Casualties and Drivers' Behaviour

We are witnessing an increase in motorization, growth in the number of vehicles, and ever hastier mobility of traffic participants on a daily basis. Unfortunately, beside all its positive effects, there is also a negative side to increased traffic. Every day thousands of people get killed and injured on roads worldwide. Children and youth go to kindergarten and school, as pedestrians, cyclists, or they drive by car and – sadly never come home, leaving behind grief and pain. Millions of people spend a number of weeks in hospital after serious traffic accidents, after which they are no longer able to lead a normal life, to work and to rejoice, because they remain permanently disabled, often at the expense of their loved ones. Active participants involved in road traffic make for major factors in accidents. Young drivers participate significantly more frequently in traffic accidents than experienced drivers. Our goal is to investigate and demonstrate the problem of preschool children casualties on Croatian roads, especially in the immediate vicinity of kindergartens. We will pay particular attention to the manner and conditions in which they are being driven to and from kindergartens. Concluding remarks indicate that by improving drivers' education and driving tests casualties and mortality rates could be reduced not only among young traffic participants, but all of them. According to the yielded results, a range of preventive and educational activities will be proposed, which can and should significantly reduce casualties of children in traffic. In this paper the authors examine the traffic injury death rates among children in the Republic of Croatia over a twelve-year period. From 2003 until 2014 a total of 211 children were fatally injured. Most fatalities occurred in 2003 and 2004, when on both occasions a total of 29 children were killed, whereupon in 2012 that figure decreased to 7. Although the number of fatally injured children is gradually decreasing, it still gives cause for concern. The rate of fatal traffic accidents in Croatia of 8.3 (2012) per 100, 000 inhabitants is even now at a high level compared to other European countries.

children; traffic injuries; fatal injuries; road deaths; education; safety; prevention

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