Pedestrian exposure and the risk of child pedestrian injury

The authors used data from the New Zealand Household Travel Survey to examine the extent to which children's pedestrian exposure varies with age, sex and household income. Pedestrian injury morbidity data were combined with pedestrian exposure data to examine age-specific pedestrian injury risk. The annual number of road crossings for girls was greater than that for boys. Pedestrian exposure increased with increasing age. Children aged 5-9 years in the lowest household income bracket crossed approximately 50% more roads than those in the middle and upper income brackets. However, for children aged 10-14 years there was little variation with household income. Sex differences in pedestrian injury rates cannot be explained by differences in exposure although increased exposure may partly explain the increased injury rates for children in lower socio-economic groups. Prevention strategies might aim to reduce pedestrian exposure for alternatively to reduce pedestrian injury risk per unit of exposure by making safer urban living environments.