New Push To Fight Biggest Global Killer Of Kids

(Click on the image for Tanya Mohn's report in Forbes)

In Bogota, street design and speed control reflect a Vision Zero and Safe System approach to road safety that takes into account that humans are human.  (FIA FOUNDATION/CHILD HEALTH INITIATIVE)

• Traffic crashes are now the leading cause of death for children and young people aged 5-29 years around the world, 
• Each day something like 500 children are killed on the world’s roads — that’s two million deaths and 100 million injuries over the past decade. And while the problem has gotten worse in recent years, The blame for safety traditionally was placed on children’s personal behavior (‘don’t run out in front of cars’ ), but in the Vision Zero or Safe System approach, safety is addressed from a design perspective.  Speed bumps, pedestrian-friendly bumpers on cars, ‘school streets ’ where traffic is banned at key points in the day, and other measures work because they account for the fact that humans are human.
• The report noted that reducing traffic speed worldwide could help prevent tragedies and save lives. It recommended implementing a series of simple, known-to-work safety measures:

 — Footpaths on every urban street;
—  Protected crossings;
—  Speed limits of no more than 30 km/h (about 18-19 mph) on streets where children and traffic mingle; and
—  Targets and set plans for protected bicycle lanes in every city.