Fpubh 09 628147
Fpubh 09 628147
Fpubh 09 628147
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%
Edited by:
Stefan Swartling Peterson,
reported running while crossing the street. Only 80.9% of students received some form of
Uppsala University, Sweden road safety training, and the parents and schools were the major source of information
Reviewed by: for such safety training. Age <14 years and a lower level of mother’s education were
Cihad Dundar, found to be significant contributors for poor road crossing habit in univariate as well as
Ondokuz Mayis University, Turkey
Rosalia Maria Ragusa, multivariate analysis. The study suggests that the knowledge regarding safe road use
University Hospital Polyclinic Vittorio and street crossing was lacking among study participants albeit in a small proportion
Emanuele, Italy
only. Safety aspects can be partly strengthened by imparting practical knowledge about
*Correspondence:
Rajnarayan R. Tiwari
road use pattern, street crossing habits, and road safety procedures.
rajtiwari2810@yahoo.co.in
Keywords: road traffic injuries, school children, street crossing, road use, India
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
INTRODUCTION
Children and Health,
a section of the journal
Increasing economic development has resulted in the overall development of the road network as
Frontiers in Public Health
well as vehicle technology. In countries like India, this has meant increased vehicle density on roads
Received: 11 November 2020 thereby increasing possibilities for road traffic accidents (RTAs). A recently published burden-of-
Accepted: 12 January 2021
disease study reported that RTAs are in the top 15 accounting for the most Disability-Adjusted Life
Published: 05 February 2021
Years (DALYs). It contributed 3.3% of DALYs at all ages and from Years of Life Lost (YLLs), i.e.,
Citation:
due to mortality (1). India had an increase in the number of deaths due to road injuries of 58.7%
Tiwari RR, Patel S, Soju A and
Trivedi P (2021) Road Use Pattern and
between 1990 and 2017. Similarly, the proportion of deaths due to road injuries among all deaths
Street Crossing Habits of in India increased from 1.7% in 1990 to 2.2% in 2017 (2). Thus, India had 17.6% of the total global
Schoolchildren in India. deaths due to road injuries in 2017. Road injuries were the leading cause of death in males aged
Front. Public Health 9:628147. 15–39 years age in 2017. In Gujarat, the crude death rate was 13.5 per lakh population which was
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.628147 an increase of 3.1% from 1990 to 2017. This suggests the gravity of RTAs.
Further, non-fatal RTAs have other consequences such participants of the study. A total of 497, schoolchildren were
as physical, psychological, everyday life, and financial enrolled in the study which comprised 254 boys and 243 girls.
consequences. The physical consequences of RTAs can be After gaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Ethics
in the form of temporary or permanent disability that will Committee and informed verbal assent from the students, the
not only hamper daily activities. In a study, it was found information was recorded on the predesigned questionnaire.
that even minor and moderate injuries had detrimental long- The questionnaire was developed after reviewing similar
term health consequences. The psychological consequences studies available in the literature. It consisted of three
include travel anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorders, which major sections. The first section was about the demographic
sometimes force life alteration (3). For children, it is reported information of the participants. The second section included
that psychological consequence was associated with disability, the road use pattern of the participants such as perception of
especially for travel (4). The costs of fatality and injuries due school distance from home, mode of reaching school, perception
to RTAs have a tremendous impact on social well-being and about the traffic and way of dealing with it, and knowledge about
socioeconomic development endeavors (5). the health effects of noise. The third section included questions
Vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and regarding street crossing habits and safety education such as
children are common victims of RTAs. Pedestrian deaths perception of difficulty in crossing the road, place of crossing the
accounted for 35.1% of all deaths due to road injuries in India in road, risky way of crossing roads such as running while crossing
2017 (2). One of the important factors for the occurrence of RTA or crossing in groups, and sources of receiving safety education,
is the road use pattern and behavior of children. Schoolchildren if received.
can either be escorted to school by parents or elders or may be Responses to the questions were dichotomized and graded
allowed to go alone to school. Escorting them to school means a on a scale of “0” and “1” with “1” indicating a correct response
lot of household travel as the peak traffic density coincides with and “0” being an incorrect response. The score for all the
the beginning and end of the school day (6). If they are allowed responses for each individual was summed up for road use
to go alone, the high level of risk behaviors such as waiting in pattern and street crossing habits taken together. The mean score
the street as opposed to on the sidewalk before crossing, non- was compared according to study variables age, sex, mother’s
compliance with traffic lights, crossing outside the crosswalk, education, and father’s education. For comparing the mean score,
or distraction during the different stages of street crossing is the study variables were dichotomized into age <14 (n = 379)
worrisome (7). These risky behaviors can be curbed through and ≥ 14 (n = 118) years, government (n = 104) or private (n
educational measures to teach proper road use patterns and the = 389) schools, father’s education into primary level or below
right way to cross the street habits particularly in this vulnerable (n = 114) and middle school or above (n = 383), and mother’s
group. The present study was carried out in Ahmedabad which education into primary level or below (n = 231) and middle
is a mega city in the western state of Gujarat in India. It has an school and above (n = 266). There were eight questions regarding
area of 466 square kilometers with a population of 5.5 million. street crossing habits, and thus, a maximum of eight marks
It has grown in the form of circular rings around the walled could be scored. Thus, assuming an arbitrary cutoff score of five,
city area with a total asphalted road network length of 2,399 km. the scores obtained were categorized into low (scoring <5) and
Only 40% of the total road network has sidewalks, while for adequate (scoring ≥5). The statistical analysis was carried out
the remaining no sidewalks are present. Though the maximum using SPSS 15.0 and included the calculation of percentages and
speed limit within the city is 40 kmph, the peak hour speed is proportions and the application of test of significance such as
25 kmph. The city had 4.81 million vehicles in 2019 with an chi-square. For multivariate analysis, age ≥14 years, male gender,
annual increment rate of 5–6%. In the year 2019, 1,371 RTAs higher parent’s education, and private school were considered as
were registered by city traffic police that claimed the lives of 423 reference categories.
individuals (8). With this background, the present study is carried
out among schoolchildren to understand their road use behavior,
practice during street crossing, and knowledge regarding safety RESULTS
precautions to be taken while on the street.
The present study included 497 students from primary and
middle schools. A total of 51.1% of students were boys while only
MATERIALS AND METHODS 48.9% were girls. The mean age of boys was 13.5 ± 1.2 years while
that for girls was 13.7 ± 1.1 years. This difference was statistically
The present cross-sectional study was carried out among non-significant (t = 3.28; df = 1; p = 0.07). Using the modified
schoolchildren in the age group of 12–15 years visiting the Kuppuswamy scale (9), which takes into account the occupation
institute as part of their educational visit to the ENVIS Centre of and education of the head of the family and per capita income,
National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad. Fifteen it was found that the majority of the students belonged to lower
different schools from the nearby regions visited during the study middle socio-economic strata.
period. These included six government-run schools and nine The age-wise and gender-wise distribution of road use
schools run by private trusts and partly aided by government. The perception and pattern of the schoolchildren is shown in Table 1.
schoolchildren visited the ENVIS Centre as per their educational A total of 220 (44.3%) students felt that their school was far from
program, and thus the participating children were random their home. It was found that the perception that school was
TABLE 1 | Age group-wise and gender-wise distribution of road use perception and pattern of schoolchildren.
*Statistically significant.
# includes only those reaching school on their own.
at a distance did not vary significantly according to age groups traffic and expressed their inability to deal with traffic on the
(χ 2 = 1.5, df = 1, p = 0.24) and gender (χ 2 = 0.9, df = 1, road, and this included mostly those aged <14 years. Although
p = 0.37). When asked about the way they reach their school, 88.5% felt that vehicular noise is harmful to health, only 58.9%
59.6% mentioned that they would walk on their own. However, had correct knowledge of harm caused by noise. The correct
there were about 19.5% of students who were accompanied by responses included distraction, irritation, deafness, and effect on
their parents or neighbors. When the difference in proportion mental health. A significantly greater number of girls had correct
of those reaching school on their own was compared with those knowledge about the harms of vehicular noise as compared to
reaching school accompanied by others, it was found that the boys (χ 2 = 6.8, df = 1, p = 0.01).
difference was statistically non-significant according to age (χ 2 The street crossing habits and its distribution according to age
= 0.13, df = 1, p = 0.71) but a significantly larger number of groups and gender are depicted in Table 2. Only 112 (22.5%)
girls were accompanied by others when compared to boys (χ 2 responded that crossing the street is a difficult task. When this
= 7.2, df = 1, p = 0.007). Of those reaching school alone, a perception was further analyzed, it was found that the difference
significantly greater number of boys were reaching school by was statistically non-significant according to age group (χ 2 =
cycling or on two-wheelers as compared to girls (χ 2 = 10.6, df 0.2, df = 1, p = 0.8) as well as gender (χ 2 = 0.7, df = 1,
= 1, p = 0.014). A total of 201 (40.4%) did not like to go to p = 0.8). Although the majority (86.5%) looked for crossing
school alone and wanted somebody from the family to drop them places like zebra crossing or crosswalks for crossing the road,
to school. This included a greater number of those aged <14 67 (13.5%) schoolchildren preferred crossing from any spot on
years (χ 2 = 68.5, df = 1, p = 0.00) and girls (χ 2 = 7.2, df = the road. This included a significantly greater number of those
1, p = 0.007). About one quarter of the students were afraid of aged <14 years (χ 2 = 9.4, df = 1, p = 0.002) and boys (χ 2 =
TABLE 2 | Age group-wise and gender-wise distribution of street crossing habits of schoolchildren.
*Statistically significant.
$ Included only those who received safety education.
# Multiple responses.
13.1, df = 1, p = 0.00). A total of 227 (45.7%) schoolchildren mentioned their parents and their schools as the source of
used to hold other persons’ hands during street crossing while such training.
27 (5.4%) never crossed the road on their own. Although the The mean scores of street crossing habits according to study
majority (87.9%) of the students had correct street crossing habits variables are depicted in Table 3. After assessing the response of
such as looking while crossing, making sure that traffic is far each participant as correct or incorrect, scores were given on a
enough away, and continuing to look while crossing, still 53 scale of “1” or “0,” respectively. The mean scores were compared
(10.7%) reported crossing the street in groups and 7 (1.4%) with the dichotomized study variables, namely, age, type of
reported running while crossing the street. When the activities school, father’s education, mother’s education, and gender. The
during street crossing were dichotomized into correct and lesser the mean score, the more inappropriate the street crossing
incorrect and compared according to age groups and gender, the habit. It can be observed that those aged <14 years (t = 7.85;
difference was found to be statistically non-significant for both p = 0.005), studying in government schools (t = 22.17; p =
the variables. 0.000), with a father educated up to primary school or less (t
Only 421 (80.9%) students responded that they have received = 6.75; p = 0.01), and with a mother educated up to primary
road safety training. A significantly greater number of those school or less had significantly lower scores as compared to
aged ≥14 years (χ 2 = 4.3, df = 1, p = 0.04) and girls (χ 2 their counterparts.
= 14.3, df = 1, p = 0.00) responded to having received The scores of street crossing habits were further dichotomized
safety education. When these students who have received safety as low score (<5) or high score (≥5). This dichotomized
education were asked about the source of such training, most variable was used for the multivariate analysis with study
TABLE 3 | Mean scores of street crossing habit according to study variables. most favorable type of crossing facility by the majority of
pedestrians (16).
Study variable N Mean score ±SD t; p-Value
Despite that road etiquette and safety education are important
Age (in years) for controlling RTAs especially involving pedestrians, it was
<14 379 6.32 ± 1.34 7.85; 0.005* important to note that 80.9% received some form of traffic
≥14 118 6.70 ± 1.06 safety education and nearly one-fifth did not receive any traffic
Gender safety education. The major sources for such education were
Male 254 6.35 ± 1.31 1.44; 0.23 parents and school. While parents might have taught road
Female 243 6.49 ± 1.27 etiquette practically while accompanying the child on the street,
Mother’s education the knowledge gained through schoolbooks might be theoretical
Primary and below 231 6.19 ± 1.38 12.79; 0.000* instead of practical. It has been widely accepted that better road
Middle and above 266 6.61 ± 1.17 safety knowledge and the avoidance of walking- or cycling-
Father’s education related risk behaviors are protective factors for road traffic
Primary and below 114 6.14 ± 1.49 6.75; 0.01* injuries especially involving children (17). Also, many injuries
Middle and above 383 6.50 ± 1.22 to children cannot be prevented without some degree of active
School type behavior on the part of parents. Thus, more injury prevention
Government 104 5.89 ± 1.47 22.17; 0.000* programs are needed to improve road safety knowledge and
Private 389 6.55 ± 1.21
reduce risk behaviors.
*Statistically significant. Further, an inadequate street crossing habit was found to
be associated with younger age and a lower level of mother’s
education. Maternal grade attainment and literacy are associated
with a wide range of preventive and treatment-oriented health
variables (Table 4). It was observed that those aged <14 years
behavior and the effective use of health services (18). Similarly,
had 2 times higher odds of getting lower scores (OR =
lower-level mother’s education can result in the poor street
2.0; 95% CI = 1.14–3.52). Similarly, children whose mother
crossing attitudes of schoolchildren. In addition, it is not
had a lower level of education had a 1.8 times higher
uncommon for children to play on roads in India as not many
chance of getting a low score (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.12–
neighborhoods have playgrounds. Also, these residential areas
2.90), indicating poor knowledge about the correct street
often do not have speed or traffic volume restrictions, thereby
crossing practices.
increasing the risk of road traffic injuries for children. They
are often unsupervised while playing or running errands, and
DISCUSSION parental supervision can reduce the RTI risk in children (14). The
role of age can be explained by the fact that due to inexperience
The present study was carried out to assess the street crossing and immaturity, younger children are unable to take decisions on
habit and road use pattern of schoolchildren. Both aspects are street crossing.
important as pedestrians accounted for 13% of those killed in This study had several limitations. The RTAs are due
accidents in 2017 in India, clearly emphasizing the role of safe to multiple factors, of which road safety education is one
road use patterns (10). The majority of the students in the study important factor. Information about other factors would
were walking to school and were not accompanied by any elders. have given a comprehensive perspective. However, due to a
Only 6.8% of children were going by bicycle, and the number feasibility issue it could not be done. Secondly, most of the
of girls using a bicycle was lower than the boys. This may be information about safety education was self-reported and
because in Indian society boys are given more freedom and thus is associated with inherent bias such as confirmation
are less restrained by the parents to move around as compared bias. Thirdly, after categorization of the variables, the
with girls (11–13). Also, using a bicycle in young boys may effective sample size for some of the categories was small
result in a higher risk of road traffic injuries as a result of and thus the generalization of results should be done
collision with another vehicle and due to skidding/falling from with precaution.
the bicycle (14). Thus, the study suggests that knowledge regarding safe road
When asked about street crossing habits, approximately 1 use and street crossing was lacking among study participants
in 4 students found crossing the street difficult due to heavy albeit only in a small proportion. Safety aspects can be partly
vehicle rush. In total 83.9% responded that they looked for a strengthened by imparting practical knowledge about road use
place to cross such as zebra crossings or crosswalks, suggesting patterns, street crossing habits, and road safety procedures. In
that nearly one-sixth did not look for any such crossing spot and India, several cities such as Nagpur, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad
thus had bad habits of crossing the road from any spot on the have children’s traffic parks in which children learning the
road. Similarly, 1 in 6 students were crossing the street in groups rules of the road while driving toy vehicles can be an effective
or by running which are considered to be bad road etiquette. source to impart additional practical awareness along with the
Earlier studies also reported that the majority of pedestrians were theoretical knowledge gained through textbooks and parents
not using crosswalks for crossing the streets (7, 15). However, as reported in the present study. The park has roads with
another study shows that a zebra crossing was chosen as the traffic lights, pictorial representations of safety slogans, signals,
TABLE 4 | Multivariate analysis between street crossing scores and study variables.
*Statistically significant.
rules, and dummy traffic police to teach children safe traffic DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
behavior which can inculcate good traffic habits from a very early
age. Also, while advocating active commuting to school which The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be
may increase children’s daily physical activity and help them made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
maintain a healthy weight, a multipronged strategy including
communities that support independent mobility by providing ETHICS STATEMENT
child-friendly social and built environments, safety from traffic,
and policies that promote local schools and safe vehicle-free The studies involving human participants were reviewed and
zones around school should be adopted (19–21). Although approved by IEC of ICMR-National Institute of Occupational
literature on safe vehicle-free zones around school is missing, Health Ahmedabad. Written informed consent to participate in
several media reports suggest that in Glasgow, UK, a pilot this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardian/next
project has been initiated in August 2019. The effectiveness of kin.
and possibilities of such a solution need to be cautiously
examined. Similarly, a School Safety Zone project has been AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
initiated in one of the schools of Bengaluru, Southern India,
where traffic and the speed of vehicles in the school environment RT: data analysis, manuscript preparation, and review. SP: data
are regulated using signage systems by the schoolchildren. In collection, data entry, and manuscript review. AS: data collection,
another literature review on the street, closure schemes have data entry, and manuscript review. PT: data collection, data entry,
shown that there is an improvement in perception of road safety and manuscript review. All authors contributed to the article and
by such schemes (22). approved the submitted version.
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