Culture Post: Nearly 70% of U.S. Children in Car Crashes With a Fatality Were Not Using Proper Child Passenger Restraints

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by EurekAlert!

Despite national guidelines, state laws, and known safety benefits of child passenger restraint systems (CRS), suboptimal practices were found in nearly 70% of children under 13 years old who were involved in car crashes with a fatality from 2011 to 2021, according to a study published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention..

“Given the continued problem of suboptimal child passenger safety practices among children across the country, there is a need for innovative, targeted programs to promote correct and consistent use of age-appropriate car seats, restraints and seating locations,” said lead author Arthi Kozhumam, MScGH, a PhD candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program in the Macy Lab at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

An average of three child fatalities and an estimated 429 child injuries occur each day as the result of motor vehicle crashes in the United States.

The study analyzed passenger safety practices in 50,000 children involved in a car crash with at least one fatality recorded in the national Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database – the largest available dataset. Researchers found that 36% of these children were prematurely transitioned to a less protective restraint, 20% were riding unrestrained and 15% were riding in the front seat. Additionally, 9% of children sitting in the front seat were also unrestrained.

The study furthermore revealed that stricter CRS laws and larger fines for first seat belt offense are significantly associated with lower odds of suboptimal child passenger safety practices.

“In addition to identifying individual factors and geographic areas that can be targeted for interventions, we show that state policy makes a huge difference in promoting safer transportation practices for child passengers,” said Dr. Macy.

Source: EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1093290

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