Child passenger deaths decreased 43% from 2002 to 2011

There was a 43% decrease in motor vehicle crash deaths among children aged 12 years and younger from 2002 to 2011, but more than 9,000 children died in crashes during that period, according to a new Vital Signs report from the CDC.

“The bottom line here is that motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children in the United States,” CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, said during a telebriefing. “There are crucial steps that need to be taken at every level to help protect the ones we love from car crashes, but the first step is a simple one — buckling up every child, of every age, on every trip. This simple act can save your child’s life.”

Thomas Frieden

Research has shown that using age- and size-appropriate child restraints is the best way to save lives and reduce injuries among children in a motor vehicle crash. However, 45% of black and 46% of Hispanic children who died in crashes were not buckled up compared with 26% of white children.

“Buckling up is the best way to save lives and reduce injuries and deaths from crashes, but the fact remains that too many child passengers are riding unprotected, and more needs to be done to keep children safe on the road,” said Erin Sauber-Schatz, PhD, MPH, of the transportation safety team in the division of unintentional injury prevention at the CDC. “Previous research shows that there are proven ways to get more children buckled up. For instance, programs that combine car seat distribution along with education have shown to increase car seat use. Also, child passenger restraint laws that increase the age of car seat or booster seat use result in getting more children buckled up.”

In 2011, 33% of children who died in motor vehicle crashes were not buckled up, according to the CDC report.

Parents and caregivers should ensure that infants from birth up to age 2 years stay in rear-facing car seats. From age 2 years to at least age 5 years, children should be restrained in forward-facing car seats. From age 5 years until a seat belt fits a child properly, they should be seated in a booster seat, and seat belt use should be continued when the child is large enough to ride in a vehicle without a booster seat.

“Health care providers also play a role,” Sauber-Schatz said. “They can keep up-to-date on child passenger safety issues, and they can counsel parents and caregivers at each well-child checkup to use age- and size-appropriate care seats, booster seats and seatbelts on every trip. They can also counsel parents and caregivers about the correct time to move a child to the next seat type or to a seat belt. Health care providers can also counsel patients of all ages on the importance and effectiveness of buckling up.”

Disclosure: Frieden and Sauber-Schatz report no relevant financial disclosures.