26.09.2022
2011-2020: road accidents = 6.5% cause of death in childhood “. Redesign urban areas, separate fast vehicles and children, create spaces where children can move and play safely “.
More than 6 thousand children (under 14) in the European Union died due to road accidents in the decade 2011-2020. 467 of them (7.78% of the total) were Italian. In the EU, road accidents account for 6.5% of all causes of death in children and, on average, after the first year of age, one in 15 childhood deaths is caused by a road collision. All this, despite the fact that, between 2010 and 2020, the mortality of children (deaths per million inhabitants of childhood) on European roads fell by 46%, while, for all other age groups, it fell by 36%. .
These are just some of the many worrying data that emerge from the reading of “Reducing the deaths of children on European roads”, the new report published as part of the “Road Safety Performance Index” program of ETSC, the European Transport Safety Council .
“Losing a child in a car accident – said Antonio Avenoso, ETSC Executive Director – is a tragedy that no family should experience. Although, in some parts of Europe, the elimination of infant mortality is becoming a reality, there is still a long way to go ”.
“Many of the advances in safety in recent years – added Avenoso – have been achieved thanks to safer cars. Keeping children safe by locking them in metal cages, however, is a ‘Pyrrhic victory’. If we want healthy and active children to become healthy and active adults, we need to change our thinking ”. “To make cities safe for children – concluded the ETSC Executive Director – simple things are enough, such as lower speeds and school roads. But if we really want to reduce the hundreds of tragic child deaths that occur every year, we need to redesign our urban spaces, to keep children separate from fast vehicles, and create spaces where little ones can play and move around safely. “.
Italy 2021: 28 children died in road accidents. 23 were between 5 and 14 years old
The share of children (0-14 years) who died in road accidents in our country in 2021 is still high. Compared to 2019, the 5-14 age group is increasing, compared with a decrease for almost all other ages. 28 children lost their lives in road accidents in 2021. Of these, 23 between 5 and 14 years (they were 18 in 2019 and 29 in 2020). In particular, in the 5-9 year age group, compared to 2019, the victims rise from 4 to 6. In the 10-14 year old class, on the other hand, they go from 14 to 17. Compared to the European average, in Italy the situation is, anyway, better. In fact, in the last three years, the number of dead children per million inhabitants is equal to 6, against 9 for the EU average.
ETSC Recommendations
Among the approximately 40 recommendations that the European Council for Transport Safety addresses to the governments of the Member States and to the EU, safe cycling and walking routes to schools. According to the ETSC, roads around childcare facilities and in urban areas with many cyclists and pedestrians should be designed for speeds of 30 km / h, and have traffic restrictions.
Since, this year, the European Union will review the rules on driving licenses, ETSC is also asking for mandatory theoretical and practical training, as well as a practical test, to obtain an AM (moped) driving license.
The ETSC also points out that 16 European countries (including Italy) allow children to drive a moped at the age of 14 or 15, despite a minimum age recommended by the EU of 16. At 14, 20% of road deaths are on a moped, the vast majority of them boys (boys).
Finally, the ETSC states that the minimum age recommended by the EU (16 years) for unaccompanied driving of cars should not be lowered.