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HOME AND ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
AT THE "SEVEN AGES OF MAN"
An investigation was carried out into the number of home and road traffic
accidents admitted to Edgware General Hospital during the first six months of
1962. Fatal accidents were excluded, but a coloured diagram was prepared to
show the number of accidents at the different ages, and the amount of time
spent in hospital as a result of home accidents and from road traffic accidents.
The traffic accidents were, however, differentiated into four different
categories - pedestrians, motor cyclists, cyclists and motorists. The number
of accidents at different ages is shown in the diagram by the central column of
black squares.
Age 0-5
In this age group home accidents predominate. Traffic accidents are
negligible. The infant and toddler is especially liable to accidents at home,
and it will be seen that these accidents necessitate a considerable period of
time in hospital. The accidents are varied, and in an attempt to reduce their
number the following factors might be studied:-
(a) the standards of flammability of textiles for children's clothing;
(b) the design of furniture and baby carriers of all kinds and toys, to
minimize the possibility of injury;
(c) more adequate control of poisons, so that common drugs and household
requisites, for example aspirin and paraffin, are made difficult of
access to children in this age group.
An accident not unknown, occurs when the hand and arm of a small child is
caught in the wringer of a washing machine. Pesticides, weed killers, chemical
cleansers ano plastic bags are all hazards to child life. If we look at the
American experience to find out what hazards the future may hold we must
include power tools, mowers, discarded batteries and discarded refrigerators.
The discarded motor car with its potentially explosive petrol tank is another
menace.
Age 5 - 10
The total shows that children in this age group escape from the home to
suffer as pedestrians on the roads, with age groups 7 and 8 spending a large
amount of time in hospital.
Age 10 - 15
This particular age group is fairly free from accidents although road
traffic accidents to cyclists are noticeable.
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