Safety of children in school zones − A systematic review

Young pedestrians require substantial guidance and supervision while walking or crossing roads due to their limited spatial and cognitive skills and tendency for impulsive behaviour. These limitations, combined with complex traffic dynamics in school zones, increase their vulnerability to road traffic incidents. Common issues include a lack of awareness of traffic rules, sudden road entries by children, rear-end collisions, and traffic delays. Therefore, it is essential to comprehensively assess safety scenarios around school crossings and vicinities. While developed countries have introduced strict regulations, improved infrastructure, and advanced technologies to improve school zone safety, developing nations continue to struggle with disorderly traffic conditions, inadequate infrastructure, limited awareness, and high child pedestrian injury rates. This review integrates findings from 53 studies selected using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach, drawing from databases such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. The studies cover behavioural factors, sociodemographic influences, built environment features, and traffic-related aspects affecting children’s safety in school zones. Key findings highlight that risk-taking behaviours increase with age and peer interaction, especially during the afternoon hours. The role of crossing guards shows mixed effectiveness due to variations in implementation and local context. While the infrastructure elements and traffic calming measures are consistently associated with improved safety, their effectiveness differs across regions. Safety interventions show promising results but require continuous monitoring. The review also reveals a lack of longitudinal studies and context-specific solutions in low- and middle-income countries. The findings offer a foundation for future research and policy, encouraging child-centred road design and robust, sustainable interventions for improving school zone safety.