Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada.
Injury. 2023 Aug;54 Suppl 4:110475. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2022.11.018.
Road traffic injuries are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among children. Travelling to and from school is a major risk exposure for children around the globe.
The purpose of this study was to assess road traffic injury hazards for school children during dropp-off or picked-up times.
This observational cross-sectional study included 94 public and private schools in Karachi, Pakistan. A structured observational tool was used to collect data on school demographics, the road traffic environment, infrastructure, injury hazards in vehicles used by school children, and child pedestrian injury risk and road use behaviors.
A total of 860 observations of school children, drivers of vehicles transporting children, schools, and vehicles were recorded. Most schools (n = 83, 88%) did not have designated parking spaces around the school; only one public school had a parking area. Only one private school had a zebra crossing around the school premises. Very few schools (n = 13, 14%), mostly private (n = 12) had pedestrian sidewalks. Only 35 (18%) adult motorcyclists, out of 199, were wearing a helmet, and eight (6%), out of 145, car passengers were wearing seatbelts. Compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders were installed in 83 (35%), out of 235, observed vehicles. The remaining 152 (65%) did not have CNG cylinders or they were not visible to our data collectors. In 55 (23%) observations, bus passengers stepped off the bus in the middle of the road. Most pedestrians (n = 266, 99.5%) did not use a Zebra crossing. More than a quarter (n = 74, 28%) of pedestrians looked left and right before crossing the road.
While traveling to school, either by walking or taking vehicular trips, children face many road traffic injury hazards in Karachi. Pedestrians and passengers exhibited risky behaviors while using roads. Further initiatives are advised from a public health viewpoint aiming at minimizing transport-related hazards.
道路交通伤害是导致儿童死亡和发病的主要原因之一。在全球范围内，上下学是儿童面临的主要风险暴露源。
本研究旨在评估接送学生时段儿童发生道路交通伤害的危险。
本观察性横断面研究纳入了巴基斯坦卡拉奇的 94 所公立和私立学校。使用结构化观察工具收集数据，内容包括学校人口统计学、道路交通环境、基础设施、儿童上下学使用交通工具的伤害危险以及儿童行人和道路使用行为。
共记录了 860 次对儿童、接送儿童车辆的驾驶员、学校和车辆的观察。大多数学校（n=83，88%）没有在学校周围划定停车位；仅有一所公立学校设有一个停车场。仅有一所私立学校在学校周围设有斑马线。很少有学校（n=13，14%），主要是私立学校（n=12）有行人人行道。仅 35 名（18%）成人摩托车手（199 名中的 35 名）戴头盔，8 名（145 名中的 8 名）汽车乘客系安全带。在观察到的 235 辆车中，有 83 辆（35%）安装了压缩天然气（CNG）气瓶。其余 152 辆（65%）没有 CNG 气瓶，或者数据收集员无法看到。在 55 次观察中（23%），公共汽车乘客在路中间下车。大多数行人（n=266，99.5%）没有使用斑马线。在过马路之前，超过四分之一（n=74，28%）的行人左右看了看。
在前往学校的过程中，无论是步行还是乘坐交通工具，儿童在卡拉奇面临许多道路交通伤害的危险。行人和乘客在使用道路时表现出危险行为。建议从公共卫生的角度采取进一步措施，旨在尽量减少与交通相关的危险。
