Study recommends measures for reducing child pedestrian deaths

Greater preventive measures are needed to reduce the number of “rollover” deaths of toddlers by vehicles reversing in domestic driveways, according to a new study. Of 45 child pedestrian deaths that occurred between 2006 and 2011, 13 were caused by low-speed vehicle rollovers, mainly in residential driveways, according to researchers from Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.

The study says education of parents and caregivers, the separation of driveways from play areas, adequate supervision of children and the installation of “object vicinity sensors” on cars could all play a part in reducing this death toll.

Rollover deaths were most likely to involve toddlers under the age of three and to occur in the summer months and at weekends.

More than half of the drivers were family members and all were reversing at the time of the collision. These occurred in driveways in more than 60 per cent of cases and in farmyards in more than 30 per cent. For low-speed vehicle rollovers, the average age of the child was just over 21 months. In all cases, the cause of death was head injuries.

The study, published in the Irish Medical Journal, notes a "striking male preponderance" among the 45 fatalities over the five-year period. "In older children this sex discrepancy may be due to a higher incidence in males of unsafe road-crossing behaviour and playing on roads."

In terms of age, the majority of deaths occurred in the one- to four-year-old age group, in keeping with the findings of other studies. While injuries from road crashes are a leading cause of death among children worldwide, the number of children dying on the roads here has actually fallen in recent years, the study notes.

Almost half of deaths took place at the weekend, while 44 per cent occurred in the summer months and 35 per cent in the evening time. The study says environmental features, such as increased traffic levels and a lack of playgrounds, are significant risk factors.