Topeka ? The number of accidental deaths of children in Kansas has dropped dramatically in the past decade, but it remains the leading cause of death for youngsters in the state, a statewide child advocate group said Thursday.

Accidental child deaths between 1991 and 2000 dropped 24 percent, compared with the previous 10 years, according to the Kansas SAFE KIDS coalition. The decrease came as the accidental death rate for the general population increased during the same period, said Jan Stegelman, coordinator for the group, which works in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

While Kansas has a lot to celebrate, Stegelman said, the state still must work until no child dies from unintentional injuries, such as bike or automobile accidents, suffocation and drownings. More children die each year from these types of injuries than from disease, homicide and suicide combined.

“These are not accidents,” Stegelman said. “They can be prevented. They’re predictable.”

The report found that deaths from motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents and airway obstruction decreased more than national averages. Deaths from pedestrian injuries dropped 50 percent and bicycle accidents went down 27 percent.

The leading cause of unintentional deaths for Kansas children is still motor vehicle accidents. Worrisome to Stegelman, she said, is that deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents increased 14 percent for children between 10 and 14.

Stegelman said she would like to see booster seats mandated for children older than 4. State law does not require children older than 4 to ride in car seats, but they are too small to wear adult-sized safety belts, she said.

“Those belts don’t fit. They try all sorts of maneuvers, so they stop wearing it,” she said.

Bicycle helmets must always be worn, said Sally Kimble, 11, the coalition’s “Safety Star” this year. Her mother, Irma Kimble, of Auburn, said her children were proud to buckle their own safety belts in cars.

“It’s become a habit,” Irma Kimble said. “It’s something we do every time we get into the car.”