Responsibility for child road safety lies with adult road users

23 July 2014

Last weekend alone, 19 children were killed in road traffic accidents in Russia. Most of these accidents involved child passengers who were not wearing a seat belt or using a child restraint.

The Road Traffic Regulations state that a child restraint must be used when transporting a child under the age of 12. Many parents mistakenly believe that their child does not need to use such a restraint and that a seat belt will suffice. However, standard seat belts are not designed to protect young passengers, and they pose a very real danger to children: they can crush their internal organs or suffocate them.

An accident that occurred last Sunday in the Orenburg region illustrates the problem. The driver of a car drove into oncoming traffic and hit a KamAZ truck. Three of the passengers in the car were killed, two of whom were aged 12 and 9. These children were wearing standard seat belts. A three-year-old girl who was in a car seat survived with moderate injuries.

Attention must also be paid to underage drivers who do not have a driving licence. Last Saturday in the Yaroslavl region a teenager got behind the wheel of a car. Driving along a gravel path, he lost control of the vehicle and it rolled into a ditch. The teenager died on the spot from his injuries. The General Department of Road Traffic Safety reminds adult road users that they should prevent minors from getting behind the wheel. It is important that parents explain to their children what could happen if they treat a car like a toy.

Under 16s on mopeds are also insufficiently careful: they do not wear helmets, which increases the severity of injuries in the event of an accident. This was the case in the Ryazan region on 19 July when a 14-year-old moped rider lost control of his vehicle, drove into oncoming traffic, and crashed into a car. This teenager also died on the spot from his injuries. He had not been using a passive safety device.

Child pedestrians were killed in one third of the road tragedies at the weekend. The accidents resulted from insufficient attention on the part of their parents, and all had common features: the children were crossing the road in an unsuitable place, unaccompanied by an adult. Children aged between four and seven were trying to cross the road by themselves. On 20 July a two-year-old was killed in a road traffic accident when out walking with his father. The child suddenly ran out into the road and his father was unable to prevent the tragedy.

According to the statistics, in the last six months there were 8700 accidents in Russia involving children. This is 3.7% fewer than in the same period of last year. A total of 297 children were killed (-10.3%) and 9243 injured (-4%). Despite the fall in the number of children killed and injured in road traffic accidents, the problem remains critical and requires the utmost attention of the government and the general public.

NGO Road Safety Russia would like to stress that all these tragic accidents could have been avoided had adults taken a more responsible approach to teaching their children how to behave on the roads. In the case of child passengers, it is essential to use car seats, as they reduce the risk of injury in a car accident fivefold. If a child is travelling in a car seat and properly buckled up they can avoid injury. Road safety education to teach children basic road safety skills will continue in nurseries and schools. Every child should understand that the road traffic regulations exist to protect human life and that failure to observe these rules could have tragic consequences. Although knowledge acquired at an early age is consolidated in driving schools, by that time, a young person's attitudes and behaviour as a road user have usually become entrenched. 

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