Childhood Road Safety Behaviors in China: A Cross-Sectional Study of Guangzhou City

Abstract

Objective: This article examines traffic safety behaviors for different types of road users among children aged 0 to 17 years in Guangzhou, China.

Methods: A stratified cluster sample of 7034 children from pediatric clinics (816 children aged 0–2 years who are receiving vaccines), kindergartens (1148 children aged 3–5 years), primary schools (2410 children aged 6–11 years), and secondary schools (2660 children aged 12–17 years) was collected by self-reported questionnaire surveys. The respondents were instructed to respond to each behavior question, using response choices scoring from 0 to 3. An 18-item-weighted Road Safety Behavior Index (RSBI), including 5 items for walking, 7 items for cycling, 2 items for public transport, and 4 items for private motor vehicles, was developed to quantify the child road safety behaviors and further investigate their interrelations with the sociodemographic factors among different age groups and travel categories. A higher RSBI indicates a lower risk of childhood road safety.

Results: Results from statistical analysis indicate that (1) the effects of children's sociodemographic characteristics on the RSBIs differ greatly concerning each particular travel category; and (2) RSBIs are associated more with child-related characteristics than with parent-related characteristics as the age of the children's group increases. The research findings from analyzing the self-report questionnaires were further validated with field observational records, medical records, and police records.

Conclusions: The article concludes with some recommendations for preventing the increasing toll of road traffic injury among Chinese children, which include (1) continuing educational efforts to increase knowledge of road safety and reduce traffic risk behaviors for children and their parents; (2) creating a safe and convenient environment for walking, cycling, and public transport travelers; and (3) promoting legislation and enforcement such as the mandatory usage of bicycle helmets and child passenger restraints.

Keywords:

• Road safety behaviors
• Childhood health
• Traffic injuries
• China

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51108248) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. ZR2011GQ002).