Ireland has the highest level of child pedestrian deaths in western Europe and the third-highest pedestrian death rate in the EU, according to the National Safety Council and the Irish Red Cross.
As part of European First Aid day, which takes place later this month, the IRC has launched a campaign to encourage adults to take responsibility for their children's safety on the roads and in cars.
The IRC says around 50 per cent of children in Europe are not at all or not properly restrained in cars. In addition, road crashes are the main cause of death for EU citizens under 45 years of age and are the ninth highest cause of all deaths worldwide.
According to statistics released by the IRC and compiled by doctors at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, some 5,928 children from 0-15 years were injured or killed on Irish roads between 1996 and 2000.
Fewer than one in four of the fatally or seriously injured children were wearing proper restraints. The study, led by Dr Alf Nicholson, showed that short journeys to school and shops on non-national roads are the biggest killer and cause of injury, with most accidents taking place on such trips.
Some 45 per cent of fatal road injuries in children were caused where the child was a passenger in a car, making this the greatest single cause of deaths on the roads among children. A total of 77 per cent of the children who died were not wearing seatbelts.
In other figures, the IRC said studies by the French and Lithuanian Red Crosses revealed that just over 85 per cent of people were prepared to drive by an accident where people clearly needed their help.
On Saturday September 13th, the Irish Red Cross and 25 fellow European Red Cross organisations will host demonstrations of road traffic accidents across Ireland.
Its aim is to promote road safety measures such as the proper use of child restraints and booster seats, the use of seatbelts for adults and the wearing of cycling helmets. The IRC also said that in order to protect children walking to and from school, motorists must slow down.
The body has also urged adults to consider taking first aid training from a local Red Cross branch.