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(www.wheelchairchildren.org.uk). This represents around 1.18 percent of the UK population of children less than 12 years of age1. It would be necessary to compare the travel patterns of children in wheelchairs with those for other children to confirm that they make up 1.18 percent of the child vehicle users in the UK. Unfortunately, there is insufficient

information with which to do this at present. Neither is there sufficient information to identify the proportion of child wheelchair users that transfer to a vehicle based restraint system when travelling. Given that some children in wheelchairs will transfer for some journeys, it is

assumed that child wheelchair users represent 1 percent of the exposure to the UK population of children from travel risks. It is suggested that this assumption is revised when sufficient information becomes available with which to do so.

1 _{There are an estimated 8.45 million children under 12 according to National Statistics}

Road Casualties Great Britain 2006 (DfT, 2007) presents statistics about

personal injury road accidents and their casualties. Detailed tables are included that cover a range of variables. One such table displays

casualties by age band, road user type and severity2. Two of the road user type groups in the table are relevant for this research: the car passengers group and the bus and coach passengers group. Analysis by TRL revealed that the car passengers group included people

travelling in cars, taxis and minibuses and hence both M1 and M2 vehicles. The bus and coach passengers group was more

straightforward and referred to people travelling in M3 vehicles. Table 25 reproduces the data from Road Casualties Great Britain 2006 (DfT, 2007) for children less than 12 years of age.

Table 25 Child passenger casualties by severity and vehicle type during 2006 (DfT, 2007) Severity Car passengers including minibuses (M1 and M2 vehicles) Bus or coach passengers (M3 vehicles) Killed 26 0 Seriously injured 277 15 Slightly injured 6,146 534

For the purposes of this study, it was desirable to separate the car passengers further by vehicle category. Unfortunately, the information was not presented in this way for children in Road Casualties Great

Britain 2006 (DfT, 2007). However, it was presented in this way for all

casualties (i.e. including adults). Ratios were therefore used to estimate the number of children killed or injured in M1 vehicles only and in M2 vehicles only. This is shown in Table 26.

Table 26 Child passenger casualties estimated by severity and vehicle type during 2006

Severity M1 vehicles (estimated) M2 vehicles (estimated) M3 vehicles Killed 25.76 0.24 0 Seriously injured 274.55 2.45 15 Slightly injured 6,072.92 73.08 534

It should be noted that there is evidence that an appreciable proportion of non-fatal injury accidents are not reported to the police and therefore

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are not included in these figures (DfT, 2007). Nevertheless, the data reveal that relatively low numbers of children are killed or seriously injured in M2 vehicles and in M3 vehicles. Difficulties can arise when trying to analyse accident statistics where there are only a few

occurrences of the situation being investigated. One of the most fundamental difficulties is in establishing how well each occurrence represents the risks for the population as a whole. These issues are emphasised when considering injuries to children in wheelchairs. This is highlighted in Table 27. The figures in Table 27 are based on the

assumption that children in wheelchairs represent 1 percent of the exposure of all children.

Table 27 Estimates of number of children in wheelchairs injured by severity and vehicle type during 2006 (based on exposure)

Severity M1 vehicles M2 vehicles M3 vehicles

Killed 0.26 0.003 0

Seriously injured 2.75 0.02 0.15

Slightly injured 60.73 0.73 5.34

The research has shown that children in wheelchairs do not receive a level of protection that is comparable to that for children in vehicle based restraint systems. In addition, children in wheelchairs may have a lower injury tolerance than other children. These considerations lead to the assumption that children in wheelchairs are more likely to be injured in a collision than other children. Estimates of the number of children in wheelchairs that are injured based solely on exposure may not,

therefore, be adequate. TRL estimated that children in wheelchairs are 50 percent more likely to be injured in a collision than other children. This figure was based on observations from the test programme and on our knowledge of child biomechanics. Nevertheless, it would be useful to revise this figure if more data becomes available in the future. Table 28 shows the estimates of the number of children in wheelchairs that are injured when both exposure and risk are considered. The estimated value of prevention of these casualties is shown in Table 29.

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Table 28 Estimates of number of children in wheelchairs injured by severity and vehicle type during 2006 (based on exposure and risk)

Severity M1 vehicles M2 vehicles M3 vehicles

Killed 0.39 0.004 0

Seriously injured 4.12 0.04 0.23

Slightly injured 91.09 1.10 8.01

Table 29 Estimates of total value of prevention of injuries to children in wheelchairs during 2006 (based on exposure and risk)

Severity M1 vehicles (£) M2 vehicles (£) M3 vehicles (£) Total (£) Killed 575,566 5,319 0 580,886 Seriously injured 689,221 6,159 37,656 733,037 Slightly injured 1,175,110 14,141 103,329 1,292,580 Total 2,439,897 25,620 140,985 2,606,502

TRL contacted the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory

Agency (MHRA) to obtain additional information on child wheelchair user casualties in order to verify the figures in Table 27. The MHRA was unable to provide any pertinent accident records. In addition, a search of recent internet newspaper articles was carried out. Unfortunately, this search also found no additional accident cases in which it was stated that a child in a wheelchair had been injured.

It is surprising that no casualty records can be found for children in wheelchairs. As noted in Section 2.1, the number of children using wheelchairs seems to continue to increase due to improvements in healthcare provisions for children and vehicle accessibility. This should lead to an increase in the number of children travelling in wheelchairs on the roads and hence an increased exposure to the risk of injury for this group of the population. However, the accident statistics and records do not reflect such an increase in exposure. This leads to the hypothesis that either accident records are not reporting the involvement of children in wheelchairs adequately, or that the exposure to injury for children in wheelchairs is low and in line with the data in Table 27. It is not possible to judge accurately the extent to which these assumptions may be true.

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However, it is suggested that some children in wheelchairs are involved in UK road traffic accidents each year.

8.3 M1 vehicles (cars and taxis)