Children Are Most Frequently Affected by Road Accidents in Armenia

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that every year in the European region, 42,000 people under the age of 20 die from unintentional injuries, with road traffic accidents (RTAs) being the leading cause. This information has been provided by the Ministry of Health.

Since January 1, 2018, Armenia has implemented a system for monitoring pediatric injuries, under which 189 cases of children's injuries due to RTAs were recorded last year, accounting for 2.2% of all cases. Among these, 98 were children under the age of 11 (51.9%).

In the first five months of this year, 67 children were injured due to RTAs, including 45 (67.2%) who were under 11 years old. Just like in other parts of the world, children aged 6-11 are most frequently affected by road accidents in Armenia. It is noteworthy that in 67% of these cases, the children were passengers who were not using seat belts or child restraint systems.

To minimize the risk of injuries among children, legislative changes have been made (Decision No. 439-N by the Government of the Republic of Armenia on April 11, 2019) that stipulate that children under 12 years old must be transported in light passenger vehicles and in the cargo area of trucks using appropriate child restraint systems corresponding to their weight and height. According to police data, from the adoption of this decision until May 31, 178 cases of violations of the rules for securing and transporting children have already been recorded.

The Ministry of Health urges that strict adherence to safety regulations be maintained, and that seat belts or child restraint systems must be used when transporting children under 12 to prevent injuries resulting from road traffic accidents.