Road transport safety and children’s cognitive attitudes
Abstract
This paper summarizes evidence on road transport safety with a focus on children’s cognitive attitudes and pedestrian behaviour. It integrates findings on attention, visual processing, executive functions, risk perception, knowledge–behaviour transfer, and environmental complexity. Consistent evidence indicates that developmental limitations in attention and processing speed constrain safe crossing decisions in younger children. Knowledge-focused education alone does not reliably improve real-world behaviour, and behavioural training targeting procedural skills yields modest safety improvements. Built environment features – particularly traffic speed and volume, as well as visual clutter – systematically shape both perceived and objective safety outcomes. The paper concludes with implications for training, urban design, and family practices, and outlines directions for future research.
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