Shanghai has a lower mortality rate for pedestrians under 14 years old than Beijing and Guangzhou, officials from Safe Kids China said yesterday.

The organization said the annual death toll from traffic accidents in 5.8 people for every 100,000 children in Shanghai, compared with 7 in Beijing and 8.9 in Guangzhou.

Safe Kids China is a member of a global non-governmental network that works to protect children from accidental injuries and death.

"It is important to enhance children's awareness on traffic safety, as more than 16,000 children pedestrians under 14 die from traffic accidents in China every year, and half of the accident are due to children's mistakes," said Monica Cui, director of Safe Kids China.

Officials said pedestrians between five and nine years old are the main victims of traffic accidents. Lunch time and right after school in the afternoon are the most common time for them to be injured in traffic.

"A survey of 800 primary school students in Guangzhou found 70 percent of pupils walk to and from school, and half of the pedestrians aren't escorted by their parents," Cui said. "More than 30 percent have improper habits like jaywalking and not crossing the street at an intersection. However, students in other cities have the same problems with Guangzhou children."

In April, 2004, the organization helped to set up a safe walking program for kids on the mainland. To date, it has provided education to 300,000 students in 700 schools across China.

(Shanghai Daily April 1, 2006)