Preventive Behaviors and Attitudes of the Children as Active Participants in Road Traffic

Abstract

In Romania, the number of pedestrian fatalities, in 2007, was 1.113 and and the number
dropped considerably, in 2016 being 717, according to Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2018. As a
comparison, in the European Union, 5320 pedestrians were killed in road accidents, which is 21% of
all road fatalities. During the decade 2007-2016, in the European Union, pedestrian fatalities were
reduced by 36%, while the total number of fatalities was reduced by almost 41%. The most vulnerable
age categories are 0-14 years old and 64+, and the most common causes of road accidents involving
pedestrians are: (1) faulty diagnosis - Information failure (between driver and traffic environment or
driver and vehicle), (2) observation missed - inadequate plan, (3) observation missed - distraction, (4)
observation missed - temporary obstruction to view, (5) Inadequate plan - Psychological stress, (6)
Inadequate plan - Insufficient knowledge. Between May 27 and June 11, 2019, a pedestrian trafficking
survey questionnaire was applied on a sample of 795 pupils of grades 4 to 8 from 7 elementary schools
in Medgidia town of Constanta County, Romania (European Union). The questionnaire contains a set
of 15 questions with 3 variants of answer. The objectives of the study were: analyzing pupils' knowledge
of road signs and about preventive attitudes in traffic as pedestrians.