Children traffic fatalities in Croatia from 2005 until 2016

¹ Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, University of Zagreb, Vukelićeva 4, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
² Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb, Neurosurgical Department of "Sestre Milosrdnice" Hospital in Zagreb, Croatia

^* Corresponding author: missoni@fpz.hr

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to investigate and demonstrate the problem of fatalities of Croatian children under the age of 13 near suburban railways. Specific attention will be payed to the manner and conditions in which they are being instructed and accustomed to use this particular means of transport. Concluding remarks indicate that children should be taught from an early age that although using the suburban railways is very effective and has numerous advantages, in can nevertheless pose a safety risk if they do not behave cautiously (especially when getting on and off the train). In this research the authors examine the traffic injury death rates among children in the Republic of Croatia aged 13 and less over a twelve-year period. From 2005 until 2016 a total of 203 children were fatally injured. The most fatalities occurred in 2006 when a total of 26 children were killed, whereupon in 2016 that figure decreased to 2. Although the number of fatally injured children is gradually decreasing, it still gives cause for concern. In addition, over a ten-year period, from 2006 until 2015, a total of 515 children were seriously injured. Most of these injuries occurred in 2006 (98 children injured), while in 2015 there were only 30 injured children. The overall rate of fatal traffic accidents in Croatia of 8.3 (2012) per 100,000 inhabitants is even now at a high level compared to other European countries.