Road traffic injuries (RTIs) in children and adolescents in India: an overview of epidemiology, reported reasons and its implications.

Introduction: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) rank among the top causes of mortality and disability in children and adolescents, resulting in substantial socioeconomic impacts.

Methods: We conducted a narrative review to understand the epidemiological scenarios (gender and state variation), vulnerabilities, interconnected reported reasons, impact and implications of RTI especially among children and adolescents in India using National Crime Record Bureau (2000-2022), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (2000-2022) reports and other published articles and reports (2000-2024). A snowball search strategy was also used to retrieve all relevant published reports and articles.

Results: Children and adolescents under 18 years accounted for over 8% of all age groups experiencing road crash fatalities in India. Males under 18 years were found to be disproportionately affected by RTIs. Global Burden of Disease recorded a decline in disability-adjusted life years for RTIs among the population aged 5-19 years from 266.7 per 100 000 in 2001 to 157.6 per 100 000 in 2019, with males exhibiting a more significant reduction compared with females. Multiple reasons have been attributed including higher exposure of males, more risk-taking behaviour among males compared with females. It is also observed that RTI related deaths contribute 45% of all injuries, of that pedestrian casualties make up one-third of child fatalities. Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have recorded higher population-adjusted RTI death rates.

Conclusion: Despite the presence of enforcement laws and policies in India, there remains a significant gap in our national programme for integrating context-specific interventions aimed at educating children and parents about safer road use.Additionally, it is crucial to prioritise infrastructure enhancements and strengthen regulatory enforcement. Artificial intelligence presents a valuable opportunity to predict RTIs by accounting for state-specific characteristics, offering a promising tool for developing targeted prevention and intervention strategies.