Child casualties on the roads

"Glasgow has the highest rate of child casualties on the roads in Scotland, a report has revealed, while UK-wide figures show that more children die on the roads in the longer summer days than in winter."

"A total of 16.93 children per 10,000 residents were killed in Scotland’s biggest city between 2010 and 2014, according to figures released by the RAC Foundation. Edinburgh was the second highest in Scotland, with 16.17 casualties per 10,000 people. However, Scotland’s roads are safer for youngsters than many areas of England and Wales, with Glasgow ranked just 130th in the UK in terms of the child casualty rate. "

"Orkney and the Shetlands are bottom of the UK-wide list, with just 4.54 casualties per 10,000 residents over the four year period. Dundee has one of the highest levels of children who are killed or seriously injured on its roads, ranking 28th, UK-wide."

"Meanwhile, the RAC Foundation warned that the summer months, when children are more likely to be outside, were more dangerous and urged youngsters and their parents to be aware of the potential risks."

"The figures showed that 2,250 under-15s were killed or seriously injured between 2010-14, when there were a total of 17,755 casualties."

Read more: http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/glasgow-has-highest-rate-of-child-casualties-on-scots-roads-1-4084608#ixzz44OUkwECB

 

These figures are quite shocking. Now consider this:

"Research based on data from 2001 showed that children from disadvantaged families were 20 times more likely to be killed as pedestrians than children from the most affluent homes, and 27 times more likely to be killed as cyclists. The greatest risk is attributed to living closer to dangerous roads, having fewer places to play and making fewer journeys by care."

^{http://www.makingthelink.net/tools/costs-child-accidents/costs-road-accidents}

That`s not the sort of thing Harry Burns and his friends want to draw to people`s attention when they discuss the gap between the better off and the poor and want to explain why poor people die at an earlier age.

But if you are genuinely interested in the welfare of children it is certainly something that should be taken into account.