Children in traffic

Three quarters of accidents happen in the local area

Symbolic image

(Bild: Holl Reinhard)

928 children injured, two of them fatally. This is the sad result of road traffic accidents in Salzburg over the past five years, according to the VCÖ. In the previous year, 195 children were injured in road accidents. Overall, children are most frequently involved in car accidents, as a recent VCÖ analysis shows. 

In the local area, half of the children injured in traffic accidents were on foot or by bicycle. The mobility organization VCÖ is calling for increased measures for a child-friendly traffic system. In addition, the public can enter danger spots on their children's way to school on an online map at http://www.vcoe.at. Problem areas from 35 Salzburg municipalities have already been entered on the map.

Lungau and Pongau are "clean"
Two Salzburg districts have achieved the goal of "no fatal road traffic accidents involving children" in the past ten years: Tamsweg and St. Johann im Pongau, as a recent VCÖ analysis based on data from Statistics Austria shows. There was one fatal child accident in the provincial capital of Salzburg, three fatalities each in the districts of Hallein and Salzburg Umgebung and even four in the district of Hallein. In total, eleven children lost their lives in road traffic accidents in the province of Salzburg over the past ten years, and more than 1,900 were injured.

In the previous year, 195 children were injured in road traffic accidents in the province of Salzburg. Children were most frequently injured as car occupants, 64 children were injured as car occupants, as the VCÖ analysis shows. Three quarters of the injured children had a traffic accident in the local area. In the local area, 31 children were injured as car occupants. Half of the children were injured while cycling (45) or as pedestrians (28) in a traffic accident.

The VCÖ points out that children are exempt from the principle of trust, which should be reflected in driving behavior: "The driver of a vehicle must behave towards persons to whom the principle of trust does not apply, in particular by reducing driving speed and by being ready to brake, in such a way that any danger is excluded," says the Road Traffic Act. And if it is clear that a child wants to cross the road, then this must also be made possible where there is no protective path.

Folder entries possible until October 31
In the school environment, measures such as a school road or car-free school forecourts also increase safety for children. The VCÖ would like to work with the public to identify danger spots on the way to school. Problem areas can be entered and described on an online map at http://www.vcoe.at in the VCÖ school route check until October 31. The VCÖ collects the entries and forwards them to the responsible municipality. More than 200 danger spots in 35 municipalities in Salzburg have already been reported. Examples include missing cycle paths and missing safety paths, excessive speed of motor vehicle traffic or problems with road crossings.