Parents Told to Watch Risky Behavior of Children While Crossing Roads

Risky behavior of child pedestrians like darting into the street and crossing in the middle of the block are the main causes behind children getting injured in motor vehicle accidents, according to a new report.

To analyze the causes, researchers collected data on all pedestrians injured by a motor vehicle between 2008 and 2011. They found children below 18 involved in 13 percent (145) of the total 1,075 cases. Compared to adults, majority of the cases involved boys than girls, with head injuries.

Darting into the street (44 percent) or crossing in the middle of the street (36 percent) were the main causes behind accidents among younger children, aged six.

For older children aged between seven and 12, unsupervised activity (53 percent), mid-block crossing (47 percent) and darting into the street (25 percent) were the main reasons of a crash.

Using electronic device (14 percent), alcohol (4 percent), crossing mid-block (18 percent) and unsupervised activity (32 percent) were the factors that led a teen aged between 13 and 7 into accidents.

According to the researchers, their findings provide a more accurate picture on the risky behavior of the young generation on following rules on the road and road crossing.

"While most other research on this type of population looked only at discharge data of those admitted to hospitals, one of the strengths of this study is that it looks at all patients presented to the emergency department," study author Nina E. Glass, in a news release.

"While most of the young children in our study were supervised by a parent or guardian, these children still exhibited a lot of risky behaviors in terms of mid-block crossing and crossing against the signal."

Concerned by the shocking findings, the investigators urge parents and pediatricians to provide more awareness among the children about remaining safe during crossing a road.

The findings were presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans, Friday.