Risk of vehicle–pedestrian and vehicle–bicyclist collisions among children with disabilities

To examine the potential association between disability and risk of vehicle–pedestrian and vehicle–bicyclist collisions among children. Data from the 2002 National Transportation Availability and Use Survey for Persons with Disabilities (NTAUSPD) were analyzed. Among 5019 persons who completed the survey, there were a total of 687 children between 5–17 years of age, including 299 respondents with and 388 without disabilities. After controlling for potential confounding variables, children with disabilities were more than five times more likely to have been hit by a motor vehicle as a pedestrian or bicyclist than children without disabilities (adjusted OR = 5.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.43–21.41). For all children, regardless of their disability status, children who reported having some difficulty with traffic had a significantly higher risk of collisions (adjusted OR = 50.71, 95% CI: 7.35–349.86). The most commonly reported traffic difficulties for all children with and without disabilities were “Too few or missing sidewalks/paths,” “Do not know when it's safe to cross,” and “Insensitive/unaware drivers.” Existing effective transportation safety interventions should be effective in reducing the risk of vehicle–pedestrian and vehicle–bicyclist collisions in children with disabilities. Future research and safety interventions should focus on how to promote the use of existing effective transportation safety interventions among children with disabilities and their families.