Speed hump installations are associated with a 53%-60% reduction in a child’s chances of being hurt or killed by a vehicle, a recent study of traffic calming in Oakland, CA has found.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed children who were admitted to a local hospital after being hit by cars, and mapped out locations of speed humps in Oakland. During the study period from 1995-2000, the city installed 1,600 speed humps on residential streets.

The study found that children living within a block of a speed hump saw a 2.5-fold reduction in the chances of being hit by a vehicle on their street.

"Our findings suggest that speed humps make children’s living environments safer," wrote the study’s authors.

Being hit by a vehicle is the leading cause of death among children ages 5 to 14. For the past 20 years, boys and lower income children are the most likely to be involved in such accidents.

A Danish study cited in the report found 72% fewer injuries on streets with traffic calming measures and speed reductions versus "control" streets with none of these infrastructure improvements.

The findings suggest that municipalities in our region should redouble their traffic calming efforts. NYC should energize its once-vigorous speed hump program, and the NJ Legislature should pass pending bills that would empower cities and towns to do more install more traffic calming devices. The report can be found in the April 2004 American Journal of Public Health at www.ajph.org/ . v