It’s well known that children are more likely to be involved in a crash. The reasons for this include that they have difficulty judging speed and distance, seeing objects in their peripheral vision, identifying the direction of traffic, are smaller and more easily hidden and they can act impulsively. But what about the severity of crashes with younger pedestrians?
A study by Niebuhr et al (2016) showed that compared to other age groups, young pedestrians’ risk of serious injury or fatality (MAIS3 + F) is lower at lower collision speeds, but substantially higher once a threshold has been exceeded. See graph above.
Yet another reason that travel speeds should be reduced in areas with pedestrian activity.
Source: Niebuhr et al (2016): Pedestrian injury risk and the effect of age.