Children are not small versions of adults. For them, understanding vehicle movement and use of roads are complex issues due to their underdeveloped physical, psychological and social state. Hence, children may fail to perceive danger, may be impulsive, and may have poor abilities and skills in handling extremely tense traffic situations.

The following limitations in children are the main reasons why they get involved in serious road injuries.

Limitations of growth

Every part of the body of a child is at a state of growth. Each part is relatively softer than an adult’s. Children are physically more vulnerable to the impact of injury than an adult.

Limitations of size

The child has difficulty seeing in traffic because he or she isn’t tall enough to view the surrounding traffic. The child may not easily be seen by vehicle drivers and other pedestrians.

Limitations of vision

Children have a less developed perception of depth.Hence they have difficulty in judging the distance between themselves and other objects, particularly when both are in motion.

Limitations of hearing

Small children have difficulty in distinguishing the size and speeds of vehicles from the sound of the engine as they approach. They have difficulty in distinguishing what direction a sound is coming from and hence what direction a car is coming from. The hearing ability of 3 to 4 year old is 7 to 12 decibels lower than that of an adult. Even at 6, children have problems in localizing the direction of traffic sounds. Children often do not hear noises in road traffic if they are concentrating on playing with their friends or are distracted by other external stimuli.

Limitations of Attention

Using the road is a complex action. Hence road users have to pay plenty of attention to many things at all times. But in the case of children, their concentration span is shorter and it is difficult for them to attend to more than one problem at a time. Children can be easily distracted by other stimuli which may lead them to suddenly run into the road. They are easily distracted and cannot concentrate on two different tasks. For example, when they are playing with a ball they are lacking of dealing with traffic when the ball runs into the road. Their attention is often centred on one  aspect. A child may be more interested in the colour of a vehicle moving towards him rather than its speed or proximity.

Limitations of judgment & perceptions

Children lack the ability to combine different perceptions such as size, speed, sound, time, distance, etc., which are essential for safely crossing the road or using complex road junctions.

Children up to the age of 5 are often unable to differentiate between a moving and a stationary car. they can’t reliably distinguish between left and right, hence problems in crossing roads. They’re unable to stop or slow down before attempting to cross the road.

Children less than 6 years are barely able to project themselves into the role of another person. So if a child sees a car they will assume the driver sees them as well. They’re poor in recognizing dangerous places to cross the road, usually relying on the visible presence of cars in the vicinity.

Children aren’t very good at switching attention from one task to another. The areas of their brain which govern the judgment, decision-making, reasoning and impulse control won’t fully mature until they reach the age of 20 or 25 years.

Did you know that road traffic injuries…

• Is the number one cause of death for young people worldwide.
• Is the leading health burden for children over the age of five years in developing countries.
• Takes around 186 300 children’s lives annually
• Kills a child every four minutes on some road somewhere around the world.
• Related deaths are three times higher in developing countries than in developed countries.
• Kills 59% of young adults aged between 15 and 44 years around the world.
• Kills one child below 20 years in every 2 days on roads of Sri Lanka.

Fact #1: Boys are at higher risk for road traffic related injuries. According to global statistics road traffic fatalities among youth under the age of 25 years, by age group (in years) and sex, have shown that with the increase of age, the risk for road traffic accidents keep increasing in boys. So if you’re a young male, be careful on the road.

Fact #2: Did you know that concentration levels in today’s children is decreasing due to physical inactivity, unhealthy diets and lifestyles, large amounts of time spent watching TV or playing computer games. Hence, traffic safety perception may not improve even in older children.

Fact #3: As most parents use their own vehicle to transport their children for various requirements (to and from school, sports practice, etc), children are not given a chance to properly learn how to use roads and face complex situations on the road. Hence, even at the age of 20, many of them still don’t know how to use roads.

Young people are more susceptible to taking risks, either behind the wheel or as pedestrians, without considering the consequences of their actions. It’s very much a part your nature as a youth to do so, dangerous as it may be. This behaviour is more common among males than females.

Peer influence plays a major part in a lot of these risky escapades, such as running between traffic, dodging moving vehicles, etc. As a young person, your peers are the most important people in your life and they can influence your behavior sometimes more then your own parents. You might be tempted to act on a dare, to prove yourself to your buddies, by doing something  they consider cool but that’s dangerous and possibly life-threatening. By doing so, you put yourself and other at risk of injury or even death.

By understanding that your actions can have devastating consequences, you can make a difference and even save a life. It could even be your first step towards being a mature responsible adult and conscientious citizen.