Abstract
Background : Globally road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged 15-19 years and second leading cause among 5-14 year olds. The UN General Assembly has declared 2011 to 2020 as the "Decade of Action for Road Safety" which seeks to halt the increasing trends in road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide. The starting point for any interventions aimed at achieving the UN declaration especially with regard to young people would be to first know their understanding and behaviour patterns with respect to road safety.
Methods: A school based cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 485 high school students in Anaichikuppam area of Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu.
Results: Majority of study population (n=277, 57.1%) were girls and 34.6% of the students were aware of the legal age for driving but 55% were unable to identify even one of the five given mandatory road signs. 98.1% of the children were aware of the risks of drunken driving. Only 33 (20.88%) students were using helmets while riding motorised two-wheelers and 55 (11.34%) school children had been involved in road-related accidents in the past 1 year.
Conclusions: Study revealed poor knowledge of traffic rules and unsafe traffic behaviour among the school children.