Child Pedestrian–Car Crashes Near Schools Are a Small Percentage of Total Child Pedestrian Crashes in Philadelphia

Abstract

An analysis was conducted of 2,167 pedestrian-car crashes reported by the Philadelphia Police Department in 1994. Age, sex, location, type and severity of injury, and neighborhood of victim and driver were taken directly from the police reports. The pedestrian’s actions were coded into 43 categories using the description in the police report. The unique aspect of this research is that the distance to the nearest school was measured and included in the database. The impetus to create this database was a politician’s demand that School 15 mph flasher signs be installed at the over 500 schools in Philadelphia. Only three schools in Philadelphia had school flashers when these data were collected in 1994. Most schools had School Crossing signs and School 15 mph speed limit signs where appropriate. There were about 600 school crossing guards in 1994. The data indicate that few children are injured by cars near schools during opening, recess, and closing times. More children are injured en route to or from school, but not near the school. A greater number are injured while playing after returning home from school than are injured during the trip to or from school combined. Thus, an implementation of in-school child traffic safety education, installation of new strong yellow-green School Crossing signs, and targeted and advertised enforcement of motor vehicle laws would be better responses to child traffic safety than the wholesale installation of flashing school speed limit signs. The data also confirm that dart-outs, other nonintersection crossings, traffic signals, and playing in the street are the principal crash types for children. Philadelphia has a very high rate of unlicensed, unregistered, and uninsured drivers (estimated at over 40 percent). Enforcement is lax, and the traffic court dismisses most moving violation cases. Children deserve to be made safer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Flashers cannot do that because only a small percentage of crashes occur near schools during school hours and because flashers are ineffective in reducing speeds and car-pedestrian crashes near schools.