Deadly hours: 12 noon to 6 pm

Dark hour
Even as the World Head Injury Awareness Day was observed on Friday, a research showed majority of children had met with accidents in the city during the six hours between 12 noon and 6 pm. The study termed this period of the day as the “dark hour.”

Last year 209 schoolchildren below 18 years had succumbed to injuries caused by road accidents, falls, burns, hanging, poisoning and drowning.

The study, “Bengaluru Injury/Road Traffic Injury Surveillance Programme,” was a collaborative programme by the city police, 25 hospitals, BMTC and BBMP. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) coordinated the research.

More boys
Dr G Gururaj, head of epidemiology at NIMHANS, said the children who had died in accidents last year, belonged to average socio-economic households.
A
ccording to the study, 26% of children died in road accidents and 22% committed suicide. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) statistics said 66 schoolchildren were killed in accidents in 2006, while traffic police record said 74 died in 2007 road mishaps.

In 2008, 5,505 children were hospitalised with accidents-related injuries. However, only 26% were brought to hospitals within an hour of the incident, while 13% reached hospitals in less than three hours.

Boys in the 14-18 age group comprised 79% of those killed or hurt.
They met with accidents on public roads, the study said.

Beware of trucks
Dr Gururaj, who headed the study, said, trucks were responsible for the death of 31% of children.

LV Thejaswi, traffic inspector of High Grounds Police station, pointed at the locations where schools are located. “All schools, built 20 years ago, are located in the central business district. Initiatives must be taken to establish a school zone in the city, jointly by the school authorities, BBMP and the state government,”
he said, adding children should be picked up and dropped off inside the school premises itself.

Fatal injuries
According to Prof NM Srihari, a traffic expert, unaccompanied students were more likely to meet with accidents, especially while returning home.

The study further said 91% of children succumbed to head injuries.
Mithila Bhat, a seventh grade student of Poornaprajna Education Society, said accidents she had witnessed made her more alert on city roads. “I prefer to go to school with my mother. While with friends we would talk about something and forget the world around us. Accidents can occur if we are distracted,” she said.