1st-graders prone to fatal traffic accidents in Japan

March 22, 2018

Tokyo- First grade elementary school students were eight times more likely to be killed in traffic accidents while walking than sixth-graders in 2013-2017 in Japan, the National Police Agency said in a survey report on Thursday.

Of 84 elementary school children who were killed in traffic accidents while walking in the five-year period, 32 were first-graders and four were six-graders, the agency said.

Looking at the number of pedestrian victims of fatal or injury traffic accidents per 100,000 population, seven-year-olds, or first- and second-graders, accounted for the biggest chunk among all age brackets. Many seven-year-olds met with accidents between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., when a lot of children are on their way home from school.

"Newly enrolled students are beginners in terms of walking to and from school on their own," an official of the agency said, calling on drivers to be thoughtful about such young pedestrians especially around the time when the new school year starts in the country in April.

Elementary school students who were killed or got injured while crossing streets came to 18,841 in the five-year period.

Of the total, 10,262 met with accidents on streets where there were no crosswalks. Those who fell victim on crosswalks came to 7,364, or around 40 percent of the total.

While there were some 1,000 cases in which pedestrians ran into crosswalks or ignored traffic lights, more than 80 percent of elementary schooler victims committed no traffic violations.

Cases in which there were no clear traffic violations on the driver's part totaled only six.

The agency also looked into 2013-2017 accidents involving junior high and high school students during bicycle rides.

Looking at the victims of fatal and injury accidents, 16-year-olds, or first-year and second-year high school students, made up the largest group among all age brackets. Many accidents occurred between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.

The proportion of schools that encourage students to wear helmets when they use bicycles for commuting stood at 85.3 percent for junior high schools and at as low as 7.7 percent for high schools.

As many of the fatal cyclist accidents involve head injuries, the agency plans to stress the need to wear helmets to students, their families and schools. Jiji Press