Traffic: a deadly trap

Press, 2 May 1985, Page 16

Traffic: a deadly trap

It is dangerous being a child pedestrian — especially if you are between three and eight years old. Child pedestrian deaths are alarmingly high, and have not decreased significantly in recent years.

The times that children are most likely to be killed are the hour before and the hour after school. This story, of Daniel Symons, aged six and one half years, is typical of a child pedestrian accident, and the family’s reaction afterwards. CINDY BAXTER concludes her series on child safety.

Daniel Symons was well versed in the road code; he knew how to cross at the school pedestrian crossing, and had gone many times on his own to and from school. What he wasn’t so wellversed in were accident statistics that showed he was in a high-risk age group, and that Friday afternoons after school were the most dangerous times for young pedestrians. This particular Friday afternoon, Daniel left school with a friend and crossed the main road outside the school gates, using the pedestrian crossing. A family friend watching from her car saw him check both ways before crossing as he set off for home. Then Daniel spotted the friend and darted out into the road to see her — straight into the path of an oncoming car. His backpack was demolished, and his lunch box

smashed. Despite the collision, he managed to stumble to the side of the road where he collapsed, semiconscious. Blood poured from his ears, nose, and mouth. His mother, Marilyn Symons, arrived just before the ambulance. She was told he may have suspected fractures and concussion. “They gave him the onceover at the hospital, but apart from bruising and bad grazing he seemed okay. “They warned me about concussion, and told me to bring him back if he started vomiting. He was sick later that night, but as it was a Friday, I rang our doctor instead and dealt with Daniel through him. “He did sleep that night, and the next day was pale and wan, and he hung around. He was off school for a week and the following week he only went in the mornings.” Daniel and his brother

were both driven to and from school for the rest of the term. Mrs Symons describes seeing her child lying unconscious and bleeding as the most horrific thing she has ever seen. “Daniel did bounce back very well, and he realises it was his own silly fault. “But I did blame myself as well. It was a grey, drizzly day and I thought at the time I should have picked him up, but I was cleaning the pot-bellied stove and stayed to finish it.” “About three or four days after the incident I just broke down — it must have been relief that Daniel was alive.” While Daniel is more cautious on the road and his mother feels more protective, she is also more aware of the dangers faced by young pedestrians. “I’m not always sure it’s a good thing to be too protective. But where I used to send the children out to the shops, I now go myself. You still have to balance your concern with your children’s need to learn. “I’ve mentioned my concerns about road safety to the school, and I’ve written to the county council about a proposed by-pass here. “I accept that it was my son’s fault he had an accident, but a busier main road will put more children at risk as there are three schools in the area.” Mrs Symons stressed that

Daniel knew his road code and had used it only minutes before his accident. But he forgot all his training long enough to get hurt. The impulsiveness of young children is something that she would like to see more publicised, and drivers made aware of. An expert on child pedestrians, Professor Jeff Weston, of the Wellington Clinical School of Medicine, says that small children are unreliable in traffic, and it’s

not possible to get them completely used to traffic environments whatever efforts are put into training. One of the serious misconceptions adults have of young children is that they can be taught to behave and think like little grown-ups, he points out. There are a number of reasons why children are unsafe in traffic. One is their inability to locate sound accurately. “A child’s perception of

the road is so different from ours. They’ll say that a car rushed out at them, and a motorist will argue it the other way. Each says he thought the other came at them.” A child’s behaviour is unpredictable, he adds. One moment they’ll seem “safe” on the roads, and the next minute they’re being “dangerous.” Once parents are aware of their children’s limitations in traffic, they can help improve their

safety on the roads. “Always go with your child and show them safe places to cross roads, like school patrol crossings or subways. When you teach them how to cross roads, let them practise in quiet, residential streets. But again, never assume your child is ‘road safe.’ “At night they should always wear reflective strips or coats, and light-coloured clothing,” advises Professor Weston.