Note: These data were obtained by following children. 10 boys and 10 girls in each age group were asked to lead a walk from their urban and suburban homes to the "farthest place that you think that you can walk to." The data were not the result of analysis of cases of lost children.
Table 1. Crow's Flight Distance (in Meters) The length of the straight line connecting the start and the farthest point on the child's route. Typically used to set a radius for a search area.Table 2. Total Time on Excursion (in Minutes) The total time taken by children to reach and return from the place they selected as the farthest they could walk to. May be useful for judging the urgency of search.
Table 3. Rate of Walking (in Meters/Minute) Rate was calculated by dividing the total round trip distance on actual paths by the total time on the excursion. May be used to estimate how far a child could travel if he or she were walking along a known path.
Table 4. Angle of Dispersion (in Degrees) Designates a wedge for search. The wedge is centered on either side of the crow's flight line that connects a child's starting point and stated destination. The angular width (in degrees) describes the typical size of the wedge necessary to contain the child's routes to their destination. For example, the second column of Table 4 indicates that 50% of the 5- to 6-year-old children choose routes that could be contained in a wedge of 136 degrees.
Table 1. Crow's Flight Distance (in Meters).
Age Group
(in years)Percentiles 25 50 75 90 3-4 260 405 550 730 5-6 380 600 770 1370 7-8 450 645 1085 1285 9-10 755 1365 1825 2145 11-12 1195 1465 2615 3040
Back to list of tablesTable 2. Total Time on Excursion (in Minutes).
Age Group
(in years)Percentiles 25 50 75 90 3-4 14 23 29 30 5-6 21 33 50 58 7-8 25 34 43 51 9-10 30 56 71 76 11-12 41 49 95 120 Table 3. Rate of Walking (in Meters/Minute).
Age Group
(in years)Percentiles 25 50 75 90 3-4 44 53 64 69 5-6 60 65 71 75 7-8 66 72 77 85 9-10 68 73 78 80 11-12 69 80 89 93 Table 4. Angle of Dispersion (in Degrees).
Age Group
(in years)Percentiles 25 50 75 90 3-4 64 150 202 338 5-6 98 136 230 258 7-8 102 138 248 334 9-10 108 216 300 360 11-12 118 198 290 360
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