A shift by drivers over the past decade to put children in the back seat of passenger vehicles, instead of the front, and buckle them up has helped cut child deaths in auto crashes, a study found on Wednesday.
Results reported by the National Safety Council's air bag and seat belt campaign mirrored other recent findings. But the safety group said its report was the most comprehensive analysis confirming rear seats are the safest for children. The data relied heavily on government statistics.
"This is the clearest evidence we've seen that the national public health campaigns begun in 1996 to get children properly restrained in a back seat are working and paying off," said Phil Haseline, executive director of the safety campaign.
Education efforts a decade ago were prompted by deaths and injuries caused by the impact of front passenger air bags. Automakers have since calibrated the devices to lessen the forcefulness of their impact.
The latest report found that rear seating, greater use of child safety seats and safety belts have cut deaths of children up to age 12 by 236, or 18 percent, between 1996-2003. There was no analysis of injuries but more than 240,000 children were hurt in car crashes in 2003, according to federal data.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age between 2 and 14, and account for roughly 5 percent of all traffic fatalities, government figures show. About a third involve children who are not restrained by a safety seat or a seat belt.
Link... http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_26387.html
Results reported by the National Safety Council's air bag and seat belt campaign mirrored other recent findings. But the safety group said its report was the most comprehensive analysis confirming rear seats are the safest for children. The data relied heavily on government statistics.
"This is the clearest evidence we've seen that the national public health campaigns begun in 1996 to get children properly restrained in a back seat are working and paying off," said Phil Haseline, executive director of the safety campaign.
Education efforts a decade ago were prompted by deaths and injuries caused by the impact of front passenger air bags. Automakers have since calibrated the devices to lessen the forcefulness of their impact.
The latest report found that rear seating, greater use of child safety seats and safety belts have cut deaths of children up to age 12 by 236, or 18 percent, between 1996-2003. There was no analysis of injuries but more than 240,000 children were hurt in car crashes in 2003, according to federal data.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age between 2 and 14, and account for roughly 5 percent of all traffic fatalities, government figures show. About a third involve children who are not restrained by a safety seat or a seat belt.
Link... http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_26387.html