Burke G S, Lapidus G D, Zavoski R W, Wallace L, Banco L I
Connecticut Childhood Injury Prevention Center, Hartford Hospital, Connecticut 06102-5037, USA.
Pediatrics. 1996 Apr;97(4):520-3.
The majority of school bus-related fatalities among children attending elementary school in the United States occur as children board or alight from buses. Injuries occur during boarding when children enter the street and are struck by buses or other vehicles. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a stencil in the shape of a school bus applied to the pavement at a bus stop in improving safe behaviors at bus stops. Specifically, we assessed the frequency of children running toward the bus as it approached or entered the street.
Elementary school bus stops with similar roadways, traffic profiles, and numbers of children boarding participated in the study. Stops were randomly assigned to an intervention group, in which children were instructed to remain within a safe area during boarding that was demarcated by a pavement stencil, or an education-only group, in which the safe area was demarcated by some existing environmental feature. Both groups received education about safe boarding procedures. Observers rated behavior at each stop daily for 5 consecutive weeks. Data were analyzed as bivariate odds of any unsafe behavior in the education-only group.
One hundred forty-five observations from seven bus stops with stencils and 174 daily observations from six education-only stops were completed. Observations of children in the education-only group were twice as likely to show unsafe behavior while waiting (odds ratio [OR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-3.6) and during boarding (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.9). ORs were significantly higher in the education-only group for boys, girls, and children in grades 4 through 6. When no adult was present, there was a greater likelihood of unsafe behavior among all children in the education-only group while waiting (OR, 16.1; 95% CI, 3.9-72.4) and during boarding (OR, 15.0; 95% CI, 3.2-81.4). The presence of an adult at the stop did not have an independent effect on behavior. Children at education-only stops located on roadways with high traffic volume were more likely to engage in unsafe behavior while waiting (OR, 8.0; 95% CI, 3.8-17.3) and during boarding (OR, 4.9; 95% CI, 2.2-11.0). No differences were observed during boarding between stencil and education-only groups when 10 or more children were at the stops.
The pavement stencil, when accompanied by education about safe boarding, may represent a cost-effective approach to reducing unsafe behavior at bus stops by children of elementary school age.
在美国，小学儿童与校车相关的死亡事件大多发生在儿童上下校车时。上车时，儿童走到马路上会被校车或其他车辆撞到而受伤。本研究评估了在公交站台路面上绘制校车形状的模板对改善公交站台安全行为的有效性。具体而言，我们评估了儿童在校车接近或驶入街道时跑向校车的频率。
具有相似道路状况、交通概况和上车儿童数量的小学公交站台参与了该研究。站台被随机分配到干预组，即指导儿童在上车时待在由路面模板划定的安全区域内；或仅接受教育组，即安全区域由一些现有的环境特征划定。两组都接受了关于安全上车程序的教育。观察员连续5周每天对每个站台的行为进行评分。数据被分析为仅接受教育组中任何不安全行为的二元比值比。
完成了来自7个有模板站台的145次观察和来自6个仅接受教育站台的174次每日观察。仅接受教育组的儿童在等待时（比值比[OR]，2.1；95%置信区间[CI]，1.3 - 3.6）和上车时（OR，2.1；95% CI，1.2 - 3.9）出现不安全行为的可能性是干预组儿童的两倍。仅接受教育组中，4至6年级的男孩、女孩和儿童的OR值显著更高。当没有成人在场时，仅接受教育组的所有儿童在等待时（OR，16.1；95% CI，3.9 - 72.4）和上车时（OR，15.0；95% CI，3.2 - 81.4）出现不安全行为的可能性更大。站台有成人在场对行为没有独立影响。位于交通流量大的道路上的仅接受教育站台处的儿童在等待时（OR，8.0；95% CI，3.8 - 17.3）和上车时（OR，4.9；95% CI，2.2 - 11.0）更有可能出现不安全行为。当站台有10名或更多儿童时，模板组和仅接受教育组在上车时未观察到差异。
路面模板，再加上关于安全上车的教育，可能是一种经济有效的方法，可减少小学适龄儿童在公交站台的不安全行为。
