Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26227508›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2015

Do school crossing guards make crossing roads safer? A quasi-experimental study of pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions in Toronto, Canada.

Linda Rothman, Daniel Perry, Ron Buliung, Colin Macarthur, Teresa To, Alison Macpherson, Kristian Larsen, Andrew Howard

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Child pedestrian crossing behaviour and associated risk factors in school zones: a video-based observational study in Kampala, Uganda.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2024
    Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Linda RothmanChild Health Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada. linda.rothman@sickkids.ca.
Daniel PerryOrthopaedic Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. danperry@doctors.org.uk.
Ron BuliungDepartment of Geography, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada. ron.buliung@utoronto.ca.
Colin MacarthurChild Health Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada. colin.macarthur@sickkids.ca.
Teresa ToChild Health Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada. teresa.to@sickkids.ca.
Alison MacphersonFaculty of Health-School of Kinesiology & Health Science, York University, Toronto, Canada. alison3@yorku.ca.
Kristian LarsenChild Health Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada. kristian.larsen@utoronto.ca.
Andrew HowardChild Health Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada. andrew.howard@sickkids.ca.

Funding

CIHRDepartment of Health CS-2014-14-012
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe presence of school crossing guards has been associated with more walking and more pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions (PMVCs) in area-level cross-sectional analyses. The objectives of the study were to (1) Determine the effect on PMVC rates of newly implemented crossing guards in Toronto, Canada (2) Determine where collisions were located in relation to crossing guards throughout the city, and whether they occurred during school travel times.

methodsSchool crossing guards with 50 m buffers were mapped along with police-reported child PMVCs from 2000-2011. (1) A quasi-experimental study identified all age collision counts near newly implemented guards before and after implementation, modeled using repeated measures Poisson regression adjusted for season and built environment variables. (2) A retrospective cohort study of all child PMVCS throughout the city to determine the proportions of child PMVCs which occurred during school travel times and at guard locations.

resultsThere were 27,827 PMVCs, with 260 PMVCs at the locations of 58 newly implemented guards. Repeated measures adjusted Poisson regression found PMVCs rates remained unchanged at guard locations after implementation (IRR 1.02, 95 % CI 0.74, 1.39). There were 568 guards citywide with 1850 child PMVCs that occurred at guard locations. The majority of child PMVCs occurred outside school travel times (n = 1155, 62 %) and of those that occurred during school travel times, only 95 (13.7 %) were at a guard location.

conclusionsSchool crossing guards are a simple roadway modification to increase walking to school without apparent detrimental safety effects. Other more permanent interventions are necessary to address the frequency of child PMVCs occurring away from the location of crossing guards, and outside of school travel times.

Indexed as

SchoolsAccidents, TrafficAdultChildCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesEnvironment DesignHumansLaw EnforcementMaleOntarioRetrospective StudiesSecurity MeasuresWalkingYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID26227508
PMCPMC4520271

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.