The 2021 summer holidays are coming to an end in the last states of Germany, and countless children are setting off again - or for the first time - on their way to school. Various associations and institutions have started campaigns to raise awareness on the topic of road safety and address parents, children and car drivers to behave considerately and sensibly.[1]https://deutsche-verkehrswacht.de/themen/schulanfangsaktion/ [12.08.2021] https://www.unfallkasse-berlin.de/service/archiv-meldungen/detail/schulanfangsaktion-schule-startet-verkehr-wartet … Continue reading
However, not only the behaviour of those actively involved in traffic plays an important role in children’s road safety. The infrastructure decided upon and created by public policy is also a relevant (safety) factor.
Is there a problem?
When do collisions involving children tend to occur? What are possible special challenges? It turns out that children aged six to 15 are particularly at risk on the way to school - most traffic collisions happen between seven and eight in the morning.[2]https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/Publikationen/Downloads-Verkehrsunfaelle/unfaelle-kinder-5462405197004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile, p.10 Children aged ten to 14 are most often involved in accidents on bicycles.[3]Ibid., p.10 Younger children up to the age of nine are most often injured as passengers in cars. In 2019, however, most of the children involved in traffic collisions were killed while walking.[4]In 2019, 40% of children killed were pedestrians, 38% were passengers in a car, and 12.7% were cyclists. ... Continue reading In over 60% of the cases, children walking or cycling in Berlin are considered to have caused the traffic collisions in which they are involved.[5]Special investigation "Verkehrsunfälle mit Kindern" [Traffic accidents involving children] in Berlin 2018, ... https://www.berlin.de/polizei/_assets/aufgaben/anlagen-verkehrssicherheit/kinder2018.pdf, S.4 [4.08.2021] Bei zu Fuß gehenden Kindern zählen Fehler beim Überschreiten der Fahrbahn mit etwa 88 % zu den häufigsten Ursachen.[6][Of these, crossing the road without paying attention to vehicle traffic (55.2%) was the most common error. The second most common error was crossing the road by suddenly stepping out from behind visual obstacles (28.6%).] Continue reading Police reports state "(...) a nine-year-old (...) walked onto the road"[7]https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.1001876.php [4.08.2021]; "(...) when a four-year-old child (...) is said to have suddenly run onto the carriageway"[8]https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.997861.php [4.08.2021], or "(...) the four-year-old boy (...) crossed. (...) he is said to have stepped out so suddenly between the cars parked at the side of the road (...)".[9]https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.993036.php [4.08.2021] But when children are referred to as "causes" of traffic collisions, they are linguistically ascribed a responsibility that should not be imposed on them.[10]Studies indicate that responsibility and blame are assigned and weighted depending on how reports word crashes. Goddard, Tara; Ralph, Kelcie; Thigpen, Calvin G.; Iacobucci, Evan (2019): Does news coverage ... Continue reading
What are possible risk factors?
Various risk factors can be identified with regard to children and their safety in traffic. These include children’s developmental-physiological characteristics and human (mis)behaviour, as well as infrastructure.
"If (...) the currently dominant form of automobility is to be possible for all, what does this mean as a consequence for society and the environment?"[11]Schwedes, Oliver; Pech, Detlef; Becker, Julia; Röll, Verena; Stage, Diana, Stiller, Jurik (2021): Von der Verkehrserziehung zur Mobilitätsbildung. TU Berlin (IVP-Discussion Paper, Heft 2). ... Continue reading
According to road traffic regulations, a ten-year-old child must already ride a bicycle on the road, with all the challenges that entails.[12]§2 (5) StVO, ... https://www.stvo.de/strassenverkehrsordnung/90-2-strassenbenutzung-durch-fahrzeuge [4.08.2021] The lack of protected bike lanes then often forces children to continue riding on the pavement - or not at all for certain stretches - for their own safety. This logically leads to spatial conflicts with pedestrians. If bike lanes and footpaths are available but are blocked by car drivers or delivery traffic, further dangerous situations arise. These are particularly critical for children, as - from a purely physiological point of view - they are still unable to correctly assess speeds and distances of moving vehicles until they are about 14 years old.[13]See GEHLERT, Tina; KRÖLING, Sophie (2020): Entwicklung der Geschwindigkeitswahrnehmung bei Kindern. Unfallforschung kompakt Nr. 106. Berlin: Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft, Unfallforschung ... Continue reading Dodging a parked vehicle on a bike lane and getting into the flow of traffic can be a life-threatening challenge and not only for children.[14]https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/polizei-justiz/lieferwagen-stand-auf-radweg-radfahrerin-stirbt-bei-unfall-in-berlin-friedrichshain-mahnwache-am-freitag/27227648.html [12.08.2021]
It is only from the age of about eight that children develop a foresighted awareness of danger.[15]Limbourg, Maria (1997), Kind und Verkehr - alles verkehrt? Kindspezifische Mechanismen und Verhaltensmuster als Auslöser für Unfälle im Verkehr, … Continue reading But consciously translating this into action (prevention awareness) requires further years to mature.[16]Ibid. In addition, children, especially toddlers, act impulsively and unpredictably. If a collision occurs, the speed at which the car is driving plays a decisive role. If a driver going 30 km/h has already braked, a driver going 50 km/h has not even reacted yet.
But even a 30 km/h speed limit in front of schools or kindergartens is only useful if it is adhered to by drivers, monitored by the police, and violation is sanctioned.[17]https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.1040823.php [12.08.2021] Pedestrian crossings and other safe crossing facilities are lacking in many places and, even where they do exist, they are no guarantee of safety.[18]https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/news/polizeibericht-berlin/unfall-in-berlin-autofahrer-erfasst-am-zebrastreifen-zwei-maedchen-li.148048 [4.08.2021], … Continue reading
So it is understandable if parents often view their car as the safest transport option for their children. Unfortunately, this is precisely what leads to more dangerous and confusing situations, including but not limited to in front of schools and daycare centres.[19]To name just a few cases: https://www.rnd.de/panorama/hannover-kind-wird-vor-kita-vom-auto-der-eltern-uberrollt-und-stirbt-PBRWIZQWHQMW6AKC2PLCL3KUOE.html ... Continue reading Children who come by bike or walk are endangered by all the motorised traffic.[20]Hüttenmoser, Marco (2004): Der leere Weg. Zur Bedeutung des Schulweges. Eine Analyse anhand von Kinder-zeichnungen. In collaboration with the Gruppo di convenienza Traffico in Capriasca. ... Continue reading And children who are taken by car do not learn enough about how to move independently in road traffic.
Children drawing their way to school – an impressive comparison: One child driven, the other one walks. | © Marco Hüttenmoser - www.kindundumwelt.ch
Solutions and opportunities
In order to break out of this negative spiral, we need the cooperation and support of different actors and decision-makers.
The fact that children are still in a phase of mental and physical development should not be an argument for excluding them from independent participation in mobility. The Berlin Mobility Act demands: "Mobility in Berlin should be guaranteed (...) regardless of age, gender, income and personal mobility impairments (...)"[21]§3 MobG: „Mobilität für alle: Mobilität in Berlin soll bezogen auf die wesentlichen Wegezwecke 1. an allen Tagen des Jahres und rund um die Uhr 2. in allen Teilen Berlins gleichwertig und 3. … Continue reading The consequence should be to design infrastructure in such a way that children can participate without endangering their lives in the spirit of Vision Zero: even two-and-a-half-year-olds riding balance bikes are mobile and participate in public life. No one should be shocked when a ten-year-old child rides a bicycle on the road, and it should not be up to the courage of the parents to move with the children in the streetscape in the current traffic system.
Various educational measures offer approaches to think about improvements and to further develop the status quo to increase road safety. For example, human-centred mobility education[22]There are calls from the scientific community for the concept to be examined and developed further. See Schwedes, Oliver; Pech, Detlef; Becker, Julia; Röll, Verena; Stage, Diana, Stiller, Jurik (2021): Von ... Continue reading enables even younger (school) children to make self-determined and responsible decisions about their own mobility.[23]Ibid. This also gives them opportunities to develop and improve skills such as balance and body coordination in line with their age, and consequently to move more safely in traffic.[24]„In der frühkindlichen Phase geht es daher zunächst um die Herausbildung von Bewegungsfähigkeit und Motorik sowie die Fähigkeit, sich selbst und andere Wahrzunehmen.“ ... Continue reading According to the Berlin Senate's road safety programme, it is only “desirable” for children to be trained in cycling earlier than in the fourth class of primary school.[25]https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/_assets/verkehr/verkehrspolitik/verkehrssicherheit/verkehrssicherheitsprogramm/berlin_sicher_mobil2020_broschuere.pdf, p.16 [12.08.2021] „Berlin sicher mobil 2020“, … Continue reading Berlin's school route plans, which are intended to show parents and pupils the safest route to school, could be understood as an incentive to politicians to bring about improvements in the current local infrastructure: Where are pedestrian crossings still missing on the way to school; are the speed limits of 30 km/h or in traffic calming zones consistently adhered to; where are children forced to wait on islands between trams and multi-lane roads because the traffic light phases are too short to allow them to cross in one go?
Pedestrian crossing with a traffic light phase that is too short for active road users | Photo: Marlene Sattler - EXPERI
If infrastructural conditions are planned and designed in such a way that parents are willing to let - and trust - their children to master their routes independently or accompanied, it is not only children who benefit.[26]See ... http://www.kindundumwelt.ch/_files/werkspurenBildschirm.pdf [4.08.2021] The more rapid implementation of protected bike lanes, more delivery zones, the more courageous dismantling of car parking facilities and the installation of more safe crossing possibilities such as zebra crossings with good visibility between drivers and pedestrians are also a benefit for all other active road users. The fact that a maximum speed of 30 kilometres per hour in built-up areas increases road safety has been described and proven many times.[27]One of many examples: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/2546/publikationen/wirkungen_von_tempo_30_an_hauptstrassen.pdf [12.08.2021]
It is the responsibility[28]§10 (1) MobG: „Verkehrssicherheit: Alle Menschen sollen unabhängig vom gewählten Verkehrsmittel sicher an ihrem Ziel ankommen.“ .“ [Road safety: All people should arrive safely at their destination, regardless of their ... Continue reading of policymakers to create infrastructural framework conditions that enable all road users to participate safely in mobility.[29]§3 MobG: „Mobilität für alle: Mobilität in Berlin soll bezogen auf die wesentlichen Wegezwecke 1. an allen Tagen des Jahres und rund um die Uhr 2. in allen Teilen Berlins gleichwertig und 3. … Continue reading This is not just about the routes that are (or have to be) travelled to get from one place to the next.
It is an opportunity to rethink living spaces and make them more people-friendly so that generations can grow up independently and move more freely in public space. For them, living in a car-oriented world can one day be a thing of the past. One possible solution is the establishment of neighbourhood blocks - or Kiezblocks.[30]What is a Kiezblock: https://changing-cities.org/kampagnen/kiezblocks/ [12.08.2021]
What is your opinion on Kiezblocks? Survey: https://survey.iass-potsdam.de/index.php/489542?lang=de [12.08.2021] Their main features are a maximum speed limit of ten kilometres per hour and the avoidance of motorised traffic through modal filters. Children depend on spaces (of discovery) outside their own four walls for healthy development which are not limited to places like fenced playgrounds.[31]See Zum Stellenwert von Primärerfahrungen von Kindern im Aussenraum, Marco Hüttenmoser, Dokumentationsstelle Kind und Umwelt, Muri AG, http://www.kindundumwelt.ch/_files/werkspurenBildschirm.pdf ... Continue reading The direct residential environment and a safe route to school or daycare would be a good start.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | https://deutsche-verkehrswacht.de/themen/schulanfangsaktion/ [12.08.2021] https://www.unfallkasse-berlin.de/service/archiv-meldungen/detail/schulanfangsaktion-schule-startet-verkehr-wartet [12.08.2021] „Sicher zur Schule!“: A Berlin-based parents' initiative to encourage parents to inspire their children to take an active way to school: https://sicherzurschule.berlin/ [12.08.2021] „Achtung, Kinder überraschen“: A Swiss campaign that argues more from the point of view of children and raises awareness that children are faced with special mobility challenges: https://www.doppelt-aufpassen.ch/ [12.08.2021] "Aufgepasst Brandenburg": A campaign by the Brandenburg police, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg and others: https://presse.adac.de/regionalclubs/berlin-brandenburg/aufgepasst-brandenburg.html |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/Publikationen/Downloads-Verkehrsunfaelle/unfaelle-kinder-5462405197004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile, p.10 |
| ↑3 | Ibid., p.10 |
| ↑4 | In 2019, 40% of children killed were pedestrians, 38% were passengers in a car, and 12.7% were cyclists. https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/Publikationen/Downloads-Verkehrsunfaelle/unfaelle-kinder-5462405197004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile, p.7 [4.08.2021] |
| ↑5 | Special investigation "Verkehrsunfälle mit Kindern" [Traffic accidents involving children] in Berlin 2018, ... https://www.berlin.de/polizei/_assets/aufgaben/anlagen-verkehrssicherheit/kinder2018.pdf, S.4 [4.08.2021] |
| ↑6 | „Davon wiederum war das Überschreiten der Fahrbahn, ohne auf den Fahrzeugverkehr zu achten (55,2 %) der häufigste Fehler. Zweithäufigstes Fehlverhalten war das Überschreiten der Fahrbahn durch plötzliches Hervortreten hinter Sichthindernissen (28,6 %).“ [Of these, crossing the road without paying attention to vehicle traffic (55.2%) was the most common error. The second most common error was crossing the road by suddenly stepping out from behind visual obstacles (28.6%).] https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/Publikationen/Downloads-Verkehrsunfaelle/unfaelle-kinder-5462405197004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile, p.11 [4.08.2021] |
| ↑7 | https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.1001876.php [4.08.2021] |
| ↑8 | https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.997861.php [4.08.2021] |
| ↑9 | https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.993036.php [4.08.2021] |
| ↑10 | Studies indicate that responsibility and blame are assigned and weighted depending on how reports word crashes. Goddard, Tara; Ralph, Kelcie; Thigpen, Calvin G.; Iacobucci, Evan (2019): Does news coverage of traffic crashes affect perceived blame and preferred solutions? Evidence from an experiment, Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Volume 3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198219300727/pdfft?md5=ee98145ff5d5d73baa82d0417dd54324&pid=1-s2.0-S2590198219300727-main.pdf [4.08.2021] |
| ↑11 | Schwedes, Oliver; Pech, Detlef; Becker, Julia; Röll, Verena; Stage, Diana, Stiller, Jurik (2021): Von der Verkehrserziehung zur Mobilitätsbildung. TU Berlin (IVP-Discussion Paper, Heft 2). https://www.ivp.tu-berlin.de/fileadmin/fg93/Dokumente/Discussion_Paper/DP4_Schwedes_et_al_Mobilittsbildung.pdf, p. 35 [4.08.2021] |
| ↑12 | §2 (5) StVO, ... https://www.stvo.de/strassenverkehrsordnung/90-2-strassenbenutzung-durch-fahrzeuge [4.08.2021] |
| ↑13 | See ... GEHLERT, Tina; KRÖLING, Sophie (2020): Entwicklung der Geschwindigkeitswahrnehmung bei Kindern. Unfallforschung kompakt Nr. 106. Berlin: Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft, Unfallforschung der Versicherer, p.14 [4.08.2021] |
| ↑14 | https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/polizei-justiz/lieferwagen-stand-auf-radweg-radfahrerin-stirbt-bei-unfall-in-berlin-friedrichshain-mahnwache-am-freitag/27227648.html [12.08.2021] |
| ↑15 | Limbourg, Maria (1997), Kind und Verkehr - alles verkehrt? Kindspezifische Mechanismen und Verhaltensmuster als Auslöser für Unfälle im Verkehr, https://www.uni-due.de/traffic_education/alt/texte.ml/Saar.html [4.08.2021] |
| ↑16, ↑23 | Ibid. |
| ↑17 | https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.1040823.php [12.08.2021] |
| ↑18 | https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/news/polizeibericht-berlin/unfall-in-berlin-autofahrer-erfasst-am-zebrastreifen-zwei-maedchen-li.148048 [4.08.2021], https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/2021/pressemitteilung.1067764.php [4.08.2021] |
| ↑19 | Um nur einige wenige Fälle zu nennen: https://www.rnd.de/panorama/hannover-kind-wird-vor-kita-vom-auto-der-eltern-uberrollt-und-stirbt-PBRWIZQWHQMW6AKC2PLCL3KUOE.html [4.08.2021]; https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/polizeimeldungen/article232454877/suv-mutter-ueberrollt-grundschulkind-hamburg-billstedt-schule.html [4.08.2021]; https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/moenchengladbach/moenchengladbach-maedchen-vor-schule-ueberfahren-bewaehrungsstrafe-fuer-fahrerin_aid-53191393 [4.08.2021] |
| ↑20 | Hüttenmoser, Marco (2004): Der leere Weg. Zur Bedeutung des Schulweges. Eine Analyse anhand von Kinder-zeichnungen. In collaboration with the Gruppo di convenienza Traffico in Capriasca. www.kindundumwelt.ch [4.08.2021] |
| ↑21, ↑29 | §3 MobG: „Mobilität für alle: Mobilität in Berlin soll bezogen auf die wesentlichen Wegezwecke 1. an allen Tagen des Jahres und rund um die Uhr 2. in allen Teilen Berlins gleichwertig und 3. unabhängig von Alter, Geschlecht, Einkommen und persönlichen Mobilitätsbeeinträchtigungen sowie von Lebenssituation, Herkunft oder individueller Verkehrsmittelverfügbarkeit gewährleistet werden.“ [Mobility for all: Mobility in Berlin is to be guaranteed with regard to the essential purposes of travel 1. on all days of the year and around the clock 2. equally in all parts of Berlin and 3. irrespective of age, gender, income and personal mobility impairments as well as living situation, origin or individual means of transport availability.] https://gesetze.berlin.de/bsbe/document/jlr-MobGBEpP3 [12.08.2021] |
| ↑22 | There are calls from the scientific community for the concept to be examined and developed further. See Schwedes, Oliver; Pech, Detlef; Becker, Julia; Röll, Verena; Stage, Diana, Stiller, Jurik (2021): Von der Verkehrserziehung zur Mobilitätsbildung. TU Berlin (IVP-Discussion Paper, Heft 2). https://www.ivp.tu-berlin.de/fileadmin/fg93/Dokumente/Discussion_Paper/DP4_Schwedes_et_al_Mobilittsbildung.pdf [4.08.2021] |
| ↑24 | „In der frühkindlichen Phase geht es daher zunächst um die Herausbildung von Bewegungsfähigkeit und Motorik sowie die Fähigkeit, sich selbst und andere Wahrzunehmen.“ [In the early childhood phase, it is therefore first of all a matter of developing the ability to move and motor skills as well as the ability to perceive oneself and others.] Schwedes, Oliver; Pech, Detlef; Becker, Julia; Röll, Verena; Stage, Diana, Stiller, Jurik (2021): Von der Verkehrserziehung zur Mobilitätsbildung. TU Berlin (IVP-Discussion Paper, Heft 2). https://www.ivp.tu-berlin.de/fileadmin/fg93/Dokumente/Discussion_Paper/DP4_Schwedes_et_al_Mobilittsbildung.pdf, p. 36, [4.08.2021] |
| ↑25 | https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/_assets/verkehr/verkehrspolitik/verkehrssicherheit/verkehrssicherheitsprogramm/berlin_sicher_mobil2020_broschuere.pdf, p.16 [12.08.2021] "Berlin sicher mobil 2020", the road safety programme of the Berlin Senate: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/verkehr/verkehrspolitik/verkehrssicherheit/verkehrssicherheitsprogramm/ [12.08.2021] |
| ↑26 | See ... http://www.kindundumwelt.ch/_files/werkspurenBildschirm.pdf [4.08.2021] |
| ↑27 | One of many examples: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/2546/publikationen/wirkungen_von_tempo_30_an_hauptstrassen.pdf [12.08.2021] |
| ↑28 | §10 (1) MobG: „Verkehrssicherheit: Alle Menschen sollen unabhängig vom gewählten Verkehrsmittel sicher an ihrem Ziel ankommen.“ [Road safety: All people should arrive safely at their destination, regardless of their chosen mode of transport.] https://gesetze.berlin.de/bsbe/document/jlr-MobGBEpP10 [12.08.2021] |
| ↑30 | What is a Kiezblock: https://changing-cities.org/kampagnen/kiezblocks/ [12.08.2021] What is your opinion on Kiezblocks? Survey: https://survey.iass-potsdam.de/index.php/489542?lang=de [12.08.2021] |
| ↑31 | See Zum Stellenwert von Primärerfahrungen von Kindern im Aussenraum, Marco Hüttenmoser, Dokumentationsstelle Kind und Umwelt, Muri AG, http://www.kindundumwelt.ch/_files/werkspurenBildschirm.pdf [4.08.2021] |
