Speed bumps that force motorists to slow down in residential neighborhoods and near schools can significantly cut the risk of injury or death to children, a study says.
The review found that children who lived on streets near a speed bump were up to 60 percent less likely to be injured by an automobile than youngsters in areas without them.
The study, released Tuesday, is in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
It looked at children younger than 15 who were struck on residential streets and taken to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital Oakland in California over a five-year period.
An Oakland safety campaign resulted in 1,600 speed bumps being installed on residential streets by 2000. The head of the Oakland Pedestrian Safety Project said child pedestrian deaths and injuries have dropped 15 percent in the past few years.
