A geographic analysis of motor vehicle collisions with child pedestrians in Long Beach, California: comparing intersection and midblock incident locations

Abstract

Objectives-The purpose of this study was to use geographic information system (GIS) software to locate areas of high risk for child pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions in the city of Long Beach and to compare risk factors between midblock and intersection collisions. Methods-Children 0-14 years of age involved in a motor vehicle versus pedestrian collision that occurred on public roadways in Long Beach, CA, between 1 January 1992 and 30 June 1995, were identified retrospectively from police reports. The GIS software program, ArcView, was used for spatial analysis and distance calculations.2 Tests were used to compare the distribution of the characteristics between intersection and midblock collisions. Results-The average annual incident and fatality rate was 183.3/100 000 children/ year and 2.4/100 000 children/year, respectively. Children less than 5 years of age were significantly more likely to be hit at a midblock location while those aged 5-9 and 10-14 were more often hit at an intersection. Intersection collisions were more likely to occur on major arterials and local streets, and the driver to be the primary party at fault (p<0.001). While intersection incidents tended to occur further from the child's home (64.4%) the majority of midblock incidents (61.5%) occurred within 0.1 miles of the child's residence. For both midblock and intersection locations, pedestrian collisions tended to occur more frequently in those census tracts with a larger number of families per census tract-a measure of household crowding and density. Conclusions-Future studies taking into consideration traYc volume and vehicle speed would be useful to focus prevention eVorts such as environmental modifications, improving police enforcement, and educational eVorts targeted at parents of younger children. As GIS illustrative spatial relationships continue to improve, relationships between pedestrian collision sites and other city landmarks can advance the study of pedestrian incidents. (Injury Prevention 2001;7:155-160)

425 An Analysis of Distance From Collision Site to Pedestrian Home Residence in Pedestrian versus Automobile Collisions Presenting to a Level I Trauma Center

“…The majority of collision involving pedestrian age 17 and younger and 65 and older occurred near home. There is extensive pediatric literature addressing the proximity of child auto-pedestrian collisions to victims' homes or schools [Agran et al, 1994;Malek et al, 1990;Braddock et al, 1994;Roberts et al, 1997;Lightstone et al, 2001;La Scala et al, 2004].…”

“…Literature exploring child pedestrian injury suggests that collisions often occur close to children's homes or schools [Agran, Winn, Anderson, 1994;Malek, Guyer, Lescoheir, 1990;Braddock, Lapidus, Cromley, 1994;Roberts et al, 1997;Lightstone, Dhillon, Peek-Asa, 2001;La Scala, Guenewald, Johnson, 2004]. Additionally, past studies have identified factors associated with the risk of adult pedestrian collision and injury such as age and gender [La Scala, Gerber, Gruenewald, 2000;Graham, Glaister, Anderson, 2005;Hijar, Kraus, Tovar, 2001;Gorrie, Brown, Waite, 2008], alcohol involvement [La Scala et al, 2000;Shuurman, Cinnamon, Crooks, 2009;Paulozzi, 2006], and socio-economic status [Rivara and Barber, 1985;La Scala et al, 2000;Graham et al, 2005;Chakravarthy, Anderson, Ludlow, 2010] among others.…”

Breaking Out of Surveillance Silos: Integrative Geospatial Data Collection for Child Injury Risk and Active School Transport

“…In the past 15 years, child injury surveillance research has increasingly included explicit use of GIS for cross-sectional studies mapping locations of injuries and providing spatial analysis of their environmental and social correlates. [53][54][55][56][57][58][59] However, within these types of studies, the spatial unit of analysis has commonly been the census tract, zip code tabulation area, or other relatively large and diverse area both in terms of physical infrastructure and in demographic characteristics. Furthermore, despite the substantive and methodological contributions of these studies, a need remains for expansion into longitudinal investigations of these behaviors and relationships, as well as those focused on evaluation of specific interventions.…”

L’environnement autour des écoles a-t-il un impact sur le risque routier impliquant des enfants piétons à Montréal ?

“…Ces deux caractéristiques sont ainsi considérées comme des facteurs de risque indirects. La dimension socio-économique inclut quant à elle deux composantes : la défavorisation des ménages et la densité populationnelle, toutes deux reconnues maintes fois comme des facteurs de risque importants en accidentologie (Dougherty et al 1990 ;Braddock et al 1991 ;Kendrick 1993 ;Agran et al 1996 ;Roberts et al 1996 ;Laflamme et Diderichsen 2000 ;Wazana et al 2000 ;Lightstone et al 2001 ;LaScala et al 2004 ;Adams et al 2005 ;Graham et al 2005 ;Sonkin et al 2006). Finalement, la dimension scolaire prend en considération les politiques de transport scolaire sous l'hypothèse qu'elles ont une influence sur le mode de transport vers l'école, celui-ci affectant encore une fois l'exposition au trafic.…”