67 Children Injured in Traffic Accidents Over 5 Months

Since January 1, 2018, a surveillance system for childhood injuries has been implemented in Armenia. In the past year, there were 189 cases of childhood injuries due to traffic accidents, accounting for 2.2% of total cases, including 98 among children under 11 years old (51.9%). In the first five months of this year, 67 children were injured in traffic accidents, including 45 (67.2%) under the age of 11. This information was provided by the Ministry of Health.

As in many parts of the world, the most affected age group in Armenia is children aged 6-11 years. It is noteworthy that in 67% of cases, the children were passengers who did not use seatbelts or child restraint systems.

To minimize the risk of injuries among children, legislative changes have been made (Government Decision No. 439-N, April 11, 2019) requiring the use of child restraint systems appropriate for the child’s weight and height when transporting children under 12 years old in light passenger vehicles and in the cabin of trucks. According to police data, from the adoption of this decision until May 31, 178 instances of violations of child restraint and transportation rules have been recorded.

The Ministry of Health urges strict adherence to safety rules, emphasizing the mandatory use of seatbelts or child restraint systems for children under 12 to prevent childhood injuries resulting from traffic accidents.

Annually, in the European region of the World Health Organization (WHO), 42,000 individuals under the age of 20 die from unintentional injuries, with road traffic accidents being the leading cause.