Self-reported pedestrian knowledge of safety by school children in cape coast metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

The incidence of a pedestrian crash is a leading cause of death among Ghanaian schoolchildren due to various factors including the lack of pedestrian walkways and zebra crossings. This study was a cross-sectional self-reported survey to investigate the means of transport by school children, the incidence of pedestrian crashes among school children and knowledge of pedestrian safety. The survey focused on three basic schools in the High and Medium Income Residential Areas in the Metropolis and was administered to 230 school children with observations. Descriptive and pair sampled t-test analyses were conducted to assess the differences in pedestrian safety knowledge by gender, age, education and the incidence of pedestrian crashes. The results revealed that transporting/dropping off by vehicles and walking were the major forms of travel for school children with the majority of those walking unaccompanied. Female, younger and lower primary school children were largely victims of pedestrian crashes because of low pedestrian safety knowledge. The findings have emphasized the need for evidence-based safety promotion and injury prevention in the high and medium-income areas of the Cape Coast Metropolis