Road kill

-- Accounts for 22 per cent of accidental deaths in children

Around 950,000 minors worldwide die every year due to injury and violence

About 87.4 per cent of these are categorized unintentional (accidental) injuries

Each day, 2,274 children die due to unintentional injuries (road accidents, drowning, poisoning, burns and falls)

Poor children in low-income countries are at increased risk. More than 95 per cent of all injury deaths occur in low income and middle-income countries

Road fatalities

About 718 children die of injuries from road accidents every day. 10 million are injured and disabled every year. The causes include speeding, drunk driving and not using safety equipment such as helmets and seat belts

Road traffic death rate is 10.7 per 100,000 children. It is 7.4 per 100,000 in southeast Asia, 19.9 per 100,000 in Africa

Global injury deaths by different causes
	View image

Road traffic injuries account for about a fifth of all childhood injury deaths across the European Union

Southeast Asia, African and western Pacific regions account for two-thirds of all road traffic deaths among children

By 2020, road traffic deaths are predicted to increase 147 per cent and 97 per cent in India and China

Road traffic injuries are the 11th leading cause of death and 10th leading cause of disability adjusted life years lost (DALYS) among children

By 2030, road traffic injuries are predicted to be the fifth leading cause of death worldwide and the seventh leading cause of DALYS

One in every three accidental deaths around the world are pedestrians, 65 per cent car occupants or bicycle or motorcycle riders

Child pedestrian injury is highest in Africa and Asia. in low- and middle-income countries, it is 30- 40 per cent and in high-income countries, it is between 5 per cent and 10 per cent

Global losses

Road traffic injuries are estimated to cost US $518 billion per year; in low-income and middle-income countries, it is between US $65 billion and US $100 billion

Strengthening of traffic codes and fines including suspension of licences for traffic violations could save 80,000 children's lives annually. Use of helmets, speed reduction measures and child restraints can save 40,000 lives each if implemented

Source World report on child injury prevention, WHO