New research carried out by Road Safety Analysis, shows a correlation between the prosperity of an area and the number of children that become road accident victims.
The research is based on five years' data covering over 120,000 child road casualties and is the first time that such a detailed study has been conducted. The findings indicate that children living in Preston are more than twice as likely to be injured on the road than the national average, and five times more likely than those in Kensington & Chelsea.
In the report titled 'Child Casualties 2010; A study into resident risk of children on roads in Great Britain 2004-08', the level of risk children are exposed to is compared across 408 local authority areas and shows that children living in some areas have almost a one in 200 chance of being injured each year.
The children most at risk are those from "families on lower incomes who often live in large council estates where there is little owner-occupation".
Dan Campsall, director of Road Safety Analysis says, "The results of this study show a worrying discrepancy between different parts of the country. Children in some areas experience considerably higher risk from road traffic crashes than others who might be living just over the border.
"There is still further study to be undertaken and we are keen to make sure all of the data and analysis techniques that underpin this study can be accessed by local authorities to allow them to investigate how they might ensure the safety of children from their communities."
