Fewer school children in major accidents

Children school road accidentsChildren on their way to school. Photo: TØI

Fewer school children in major accidents on the road

The number of children who are injured or dies in accidents on their way to and from school has decreased by 70 per cent in ten years.

 

While there were 331 children injured or who died on the way to and from school in 2007, the number had dropped o 94 in 2016, according to a report (pdf) from the Transport Economics Institute (TØI).

The peak year since 1991 was in 1993 when 447 children were involved in major accidents.

The analyzes of personal injuries include a total of 2,080 children from the 1st to the 10th grade. During the ten-year period, 16 children died in accidents on their way to or from school in Norway. The information is uncertain regarding ten of those accidents. Six of the accidents are certain to have happened in conjunction with the school road, seven of the accidents may have occurred in conjunction with travelling to or from other activities or classmates, while three of the accidents are referred to as uncertain school road accidents.

More boys than girls

Of the 16 fatalities, there were 13 boys and 3 girls. Four of the children who died was 16 years old and none of them was less than 8 years old. Among children who were injured on their way to or from school, there was only a tiny surplus of boys, namely 53 per cent.

Seven of the victims were cyclists, while four were passengers in cars. Two were driving light motorcycles while one rode a scooter (moped), one was a bus passenger and the last one was a pedestrian.

According to TØI, there has been a larger decline in injured and deceased children on school roads than when comparing to all who were injured and died in accidents in the period. It is also a fact that the accidents on the way to school are on average less severe compared to other similar accidents.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today