Abstract

Objective: Millions of adolescents are killed or injured in traffic accidents on the world's roads each year, but data on traffic-injury prevention programs targeting adolescents are limited, especially from developing countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a traffic-injury prevention program targeting adolescents in China.

Methods: We conducted a school-based traffic-safety intervention program with 2,759 students in two middle schools and two high schools in Beijing. An open-cohort, pre–post design with intervention and control groups was used to evaluate the intervention effect.

Results: Compared with the control group, the intervention group reported a significant increase in knowledge and awareness of traffic safety and a decrease in self-reported unsafe traffic behaviours. Students in middle school and girls reported better intervention effects than their high school and male counterparts.

Conclusion: This study suggests that school-based traffic-injury prevention programs may increase participants' knowledge of traffic signs and awareness of traffic safety issues. The high traffic mortality in China, particularly in Chinese adolescents, suggests that more age- and culture-appropriate traffic safety promotion programs are needed.