AUTHOR=Tiwari Rajnarayan R. , Patel Shruti , Soju Annie , Trivedi Prarthana TITLE=Road Use Pattern and Street Crossing Habits of Schoolchildren in India JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.628147 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.628147 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) contribute significant DALYs in the global burden of diseases. Vulnerable groups particularly pedestrians and children are at an increased risk. Road use pattern, street crossing habits, and road safety awareness are important determinants of RTAs. The present study was carried out to assess the road use pattern and street crossing habits of schoolchildren. This cross-sectional study included 497 schoolchildren of 12–15 years. The interview technique was used as a tool for data collection on a predesigned questionnaire. A total of 40.4% of schoolchildren did not like to go to school alone and wanted somebody from the family to drop them to school. About one quarter of the students were afraid of traffic and expressed their inability to deal with traffic on the road. A total of 10.7% reported crossing the street in groups, and 1.4% reported running while crossing the street. Only 80.9% of students received some form of road safety training, and the parents and schools were the major source of information for such safety training. Age <14 years and a lower level of mother's education were found to be significant contributors for poor road crossing habit in univariate as well as multivariate analysis. The study suggests that the knowledge regarding safe road use and street crossing was lacking among study participants albeit in a small proportion only. Safety aspects can be partly strengthened by imparting practical knowledge about road use pattern, street crossing habits, and road safety procedures.