Traffic accidents kill a third of children

TRAFFIC accidents are the main cause of almost a third of all child deaths in Western Europe, a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows.

The study found that in western European countries, injuries were responsible for 13,000 child deaths and emphasised that making the world a safer place could save the lives of many thousands of European children.

A third of child deaths in Europe are due to pollution, unsafe water, lead poisoning and injuries.

Together, those hazards claim the lives of an estimated 100,000 young children and teenagers each year.

Experts said there was an urgent need for action not only in less developed eastern and former Soviet bloc countries, but also in the richer European nations, including Ireland.

The findings, published in the latest issue of The Lancet medical journal, will form the basis of a strategy to be put before European ministers at a meeting in Budapest, Hungary, later this month.

Brian Farrell of the National Safety Council said simple things like making sure a child is properly restrained on every single journey and explaining road safety from the earliest possible age were critical.

A NRA study conducted in July of last year found less than 45% of children are suitably restrained in the back seats of cars. "We have to do much better than that," Mr Farrell said.

While not having children suitably restrained had always been a traffic offence, it became a penalty point offence last August.

"Everybody remembers the international outrage when Michael Jackson held his baby over the balcony of a hotel but people don't realise that when they don't strap their children in, they are effectively doing the same thing. The same laws of physics apply," Mr Farrell said.

The study also found that up to 13,000 children across Europe were killed by air pollution each year.

Such deaths occurred in the less developed region of Europe that includes countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Serbia and Turkey. Two out of five households in this region burned solid fuel.

While lead was not generally a cause of death, it inflicted a severe toll in terms of brain impairment and learning difficulties.

WHO regional director for Europe, Dr Marc Danzon said: "Although the report carries some ominous warnings, it also opens the door to a healthier future for Europe's children."