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Boys '100 Per Cent More Likely To Die In Car Crash'

A road crash is twice as likely to kill a boy as a girl, according to new statistics. The Department for Transport has carried out research which has found that around 64 per cent of people under 16 killed in crashes in 2006 were boys.

In total there were almost 1,300 deaths and serious injuries involving boys over the period, while only 700 girls were affected. Department for Transport figures show that there were 3,150 deaths in the UK over the course of 2006.

The director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety comments that parents are often less protective of their sons than their daughters. He said: "They let their sons walk or cycle on their own but not their daughters, even though it is boys who deliberately take more risks without fully appreciating the dangers."

"There is a lot of attention on educating primary school children about crossing the road but very little material for use in secondary schools," he concluded.

The difference was even greater among child cyclists more than 400 boys were killed or seriously injured, compared with fewer than 100 girls. Experts believe the casualty rate among boys is higher because they spent more time on the streets without their parents and because they take more risks.

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