Traffic accidents remain one of the leading causes of death and injury among young people. One reason for this is that young people, especially boys, often exhibit risky behavior in traffic.

A study by the Vias Institute, for example, shows that four out of ten adolescents do not always wear a seatbelt when traveling in the back seat of a car. And two out of three send messages with their smartphone while cycling. Another trend is that young people regularly ride e-scooters with more than one person on board.

Adolescents in traffic are not often studied

According to Vias, few studies have been conducted in Belgium that focus specifically on the mobility and road safety of adolescents. However, official Belgian statistics show that young people aged 15-19 account for 10% of all road casualties in Belgium. Last year, there were 4,609 road casualties between the ages of 15 and 19, mostly moped users or cyclists.

Vias, therefore, conducted its own study into how adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 perceive road safety, the behaviors they exhibit, and their perceptions of safety. Using a sampling method, nearly 1,500 adolescents were surveyed in 24 different schools in Belgium.

Bike

And what did Vias find? As a cyclist, it is illegal to use your cell phone while riding. Yet more than half of young people, or about 53%, say they have ridden their bike while talking on their cell phone in the past month.

Two out of three, or 65%, sent or read a text message or checked social media while cycling. However, if you are caught, the fine can be steep: using a cell phone while riding in traffic can result in an immediate fine of 174 euros.

Nearly 90% of young people also frequently use their phones, including earphones/headphones for listening to music, while walking down the street instead of paying attention to traffic.

Half also admit to cycling in the dark without lights, which is a very dangerous offense. 28% say they have cycled in the past 30 days, when they may have been over the legal alcohol limit.

And something to think about: one in five (20,7%) young people report that there are bike lanes on most streets, and about one in seven (14,6%) say that those bike lanes are separated from the roadway or traffic.

Influence of the cell phone ban in schools in Wallonia

Today is also the first day of the new school year in Wallonia and the French-speaking Brussels region. It is marked by the ban on smartphones in primary and secondary education.

But Vias fears the impact of this measure on road safety. “We run the risk of encountering an army of zombies on their way to or from school,” says Benoît Godart, spokesperson for Vias Institute.

Vias especially fears that teenagers, who have had to go without their phones for eight hours a day at school, will rush to their mobile phones on their way home and, therefore, pay less attention to traffic and other road users. According to Vias, this could lead to a significant increase in the number of traffic accidents involving teenagers in the coming weeks.

E-scooter

Seven out of ten e-scooter users also indicate that they rode an e-scooter with more than one person in the past month, while only 22% of them wear a helmet. In addition, eight out of ten admit to riding on the sidewalk because it makes them feel safer.

Only a minority consider e-scooters with a passenger, or approximately four in ten, and cycling without a helmet, or two in ten, to be risky. On the other hand, the measure to make wearing a bicycle helmet mandatory for children under the age of 12 receives the most support among adolescents – seven out of ten young people are in favor.

However, that support halves if the measure is extended to e-scooter users and falls even further to 31% if it applies to all cyclists.

Car

17% of the young people surveyed also indicate that they sometimes ride as a passenger in the front seat of a vehicle without wearing a seatbelt. In the back seat, this figure is almost four in ten (38%).

However, the fine for immediate collection is 116 euros, plus administrative costs. Another noteworthy finding: only 46% of young people consider it risky to be in a car without wearing a seatbelt in the back seat.

A zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence of alcohol is supported by approximately six out of ten adolescents if it is aimed at novice drivers. That support declines if the measure were to apply to all drivers (4 out of 10), and even more so if it were to be extended to cyclists (3 out of 10).

Boys take the lead

In general, one in four young people, or 24%, report taking more risks when they are with friends. One in seven young people, or 14%, sometimes give in to peer pressure. Another striking finding is that 65% of young people who were victims between the ages of 15 and 19 were male.

In general, secondary school students most often travel to school by public transport (approximately 1 in 3), followed by a non-electric bicycle (25%) in good weather or as a passenger in a car in bad weather.

Parents should give an example

Vias emphasizes the importance of parents setting a good example in traffic and maintaining open communication with their children. The survey also shows, for instance, that 74% of parents sometimes exceed the speed limit and that 53% have driven while holding a cell phone with their children in the car.

“This stage of life is particularly suitable for encouraging and reinforcing healthy behavior, including promoting active modes of transportation and preventing risky behavior in traffic,” says Vias.

On the website www.benikzo.be, available only in Dutch and French, young people can gain insight into their risky behavior and receive specific advice on how to behave safely on the road.