New Study: Best ways to protect children in crashes

The importance of seating children in the rear of motor vehicles and age-appropriate seating restraints is reinforced in a new report from researchers

A new report, “Safe Seating Positions for Children”, from researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in collaboration with State Farm Insurance Companies and the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses the importance of car seats and safety belts for kids.

Where children sit, what safety restraints are used and the type of vehicle all play major roles in protecting children from injury in car crashes. It is the largest study of its kind to date.

Since 1998, more than 370,000 State Farm policyholders have shared auto crash information with researchers at Children’s Hospital, who use this data to determine the best ways to protect children in crashes.

“The single most important life-saving decision parents can make for their child is to use the rear seat and age- and size-appropriate restraint during every card ride, every time,” said Flaura Winston, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the Children’s Hospital/State Farm study. “We know that, overall, children seated in the front seat are 40 percent more likely to sustain serious injuries in a crash than are children who sit in the rear seat of vehicles.”

In 2003, car crashes killed 1,794 children under age 16 and injured an additional 241,000 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of these children, one-third was seated in the front seat and more than half were completely unrestrained at the time of the crash.

The Children’s Hospital/ State Farm data demonstrates that parents forget the importance of rear seating, especially as children grow out of child safety seats. When children were the sole passengers of the vehicle, meaning rear seat positions were available, 30 percent of 4- to 8-year-olds and 73 percent of 9- to 12-year-olds were riding up front.

Front-seat dangers:
The deployment of passenger airbags and contact with the hard surfaces of the dashboard and windshield are common causes of injury for children who ride in the front seat, said Dr. Winston.

While passenger airbags have reduced adult fatalities by 18 percent in frontal crashes and by 11 percent in all crashes, exposure to airbags increased the risk of death for children under 10 years old by 34 percent, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Rear seating for children is particularly important for families driving vehicles manufactured before 1998, as the first generation of airbags has proven more dangerous to children than those manufactured subsequently, said Dr. Winston.

Safe cars:
The report also underscored the importance of buying cars that have lap-and-shoulder seat belts in the center rear seat, adjustable shoulder belts in the rear seats, built-in child safety seats and LATCH - which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, and allows parents to install safety seats without using the seat belt.

Also, test out the child safety seats in the vehicle before buying it. Not all safety seats
and vehicles are compatible.

Larger, heavier cars such as minivans, large passenger cars and large SUVs are safer than smaller cars, small SUVs, sports cars and compact pickup trucks, according to the report.