[The behavior of schoolchildren in traffic in the municipality of Frederiksberg].

A questionnaire investigation was undertaken among pupils in the sixth and eighth grades in the Municipality of Frederiksberg. In this they were questioned about their behaviour in traffic and whether they had been involved in traffic accidents. One fourth of the pupils in the sixth grade stated that they had been involved in a traffic accident and 38% of these had resulted in contact with the health services in the form of admission to hospital, contact with the casualty department or the general practitioner. In the eighth grade, one third of the pupils stated that they had been involved in a traffic accident and 28% of these had resulted in contact with the health services. Equal numbers of pupils frequently disobeyed the highway code concerning a number of instances, pupils who frequently disobeyed one or two traffic rules and pupils who rarely or never disobeyed traffic rules. A connection was observed between frequent disobedience to traffic rules and involvement in traffic accidents. The number of pupils who frequently disobey traffic rules was shown to increase between the sixth and eighth grades. It is therefore considered suitable to continue traffic drill in the older classes. The pupils' attitudes to use of bicycle helmets appeared to be dominated by the fact that bicycle helmets constitute a cosmetic problem.