Research* by MTA Solicitors found a third (35%) fewer children (under 16s) have been hurt in vehicle crashes so far this year.  Analysts at the personal injury firm believe that high fuel prices and the impact of the recession on household finances could be behind the significant fall in the number of children injured in road accidents, as more youngsters walk to school. Sourced from its national database, MTA’s figures found that 228 children were hurt in car accidents in the first six months of 2009 compared with 344 in the same period last year.

David Green, CEO at MTA Solicitors comments, “The school run is often described as one of the most dangerous times of the day to drive due to the sheer number of cars on the road.  There is also a tendency for parents to feel over-confident or become complacent at the wheel because of the short distance travelled or the over-familiarity of the route.

In the past we have seen rising numbers of incidents involving child injuries, yet more recently the opposite is true.  The possibility of fuel costs rising above the one pound threshold again and the pressure many families are feeling financially could all be contributing factors to the recent decline in claims.”

It is no secret that roads can be at their most unpredictable during the school run or rush hour.  Parents are frantically trying to get their children to school or nursery and still make it on time to work.  Family cost cutting rather than environmental issues could have been a catalyst for parents taking their children to school on-foot or car sharing, with the drop in car accidents a consequence of this.

“They say every cloud has a silver lining and if this trend continues, it could be an unexpected benefit of the tightening of purse strings”, continues Green.

MTA’s statistics show that the most common type of injury was whiplash, closely followed by shoulder and then head injuries.