According to a new study, male drivers are behind the wheel twice as often as female drivers in incidents where a child pedestrian is killed, with 18-year-olds most frequently doing the driving, a new study released by Safe Kids USA shows.

The rates are down forty percent for child pedestrian fatalities, but motor vehicle/pedestrian crashes are still the second leading injury-related killer of children ages 5-14.

The study showed that boys (60 percent) are more likely than girls (35 percent) to be killed in motor vehicle/ pedestrian crashes. Although there has been significant reduction in the death rate in each age category, children ages 0-4 are at the highest risk. Children aged 5-9 had the most significant decline (34 percent) in death rates from 1999-2004.

Male, American Indian and Alaskan native, and black children have disproportionately higher rates of pedestrian death and injury, while female, white and Asian children have the lowest rates of any demographic.

One reason why the numbers are down across all categories, Donahue said, could be that the percentage of children walking to school has plummeted, from 42 percent in 1969 to just 16 percent in 2001. Donahue cited the top reasons parents do not allow their children to walk to school as the distance from home to school, traffic-related concerns, weather, and crime.

The report, which examined driver data involved in pedestrian crashes with children ages 0-14 for the first time, found that drivers ages 16-25 have been involved in more incidents where a child pedestrian was killed than any other age group. Males are at the wheel during incidents that result in a child pedestrian fatality more than twice as often as females.

Eighteen-year-old drivers accounted for 4 percent (68) of the child pedestrian deaths over the five-year period studied, Donahue said, more than any other age driver.

Other findings from this study include:

– Children ages 2, 13 and 14 accounted for the highest number of pedestrian deaths during the five years studied.
– The largest reduction in fatality rates was shown in children ages 5 to 9, which declined at twice the rate of children ages 0-4 and 10-14.
– After school hours and dusk remain the most dangerous times for child pedestrians, with 55 percent of fatal incidents occurring between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
– More than 80 percent of the fatal incidents occurred in areas other than intersections.
– Incidents resulting in child pedestrian fatalities are highest during May and October.
– Mexican children made up 14 percent of all pedestrian deaths, despite making up only 9.5 percent of the overall population.
– The death rate for black children is more than 50 percent higher than white children.

Safe Kids USA recommends that children not be allowed to cross streets alone until they are at least 10 years old. Parents must also remind kids to:

– Cross streets safely. Cross at a corner, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Try to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them. Look left, right and left again when crossing, and keep looking as you cross. Walk, don’t run, across the street.
– Walk on sidewalks or paths. If there is no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the street, facing oncoming traffic. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
– Be a safe pedestrian around cars. Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.

For more tips on how to keep children safe while out walking, visit www.usa.safekids.org/wtw