This review examines the risk that passenger airbags pose for children and discusses behavioral and technologic measures aimed at protecting children from airbag deployment. Although airbags reduce fatal crash injuries among adult drivers and passengers, this safety technology increases mortality risk among children younger than age 12. The magnitude of the risk is multiplied when children are ...

The safety and ergonomic compatibility are the most important parts for designing child car seats. Since the children, especially the infants, cannot objectively express their aptitudes of safety, comfort and opinions very well, they cannot be suitable subjects for ergonomic design experiments. Applying computers to simulate human motions for solving ergonomic design problems has been explored ...

PROBLEM Prevention of injuries to child passengers is a significant public health priority, as motor vehicle-related injuries remain a leading cause of death for children in Japan. The purpose of compulsory child restraint seats legislation in April 2000 was to reduce the number of child passengers killed or injured in motor vehicle crashes. METHODS The objectives of this preliminary evaluati...

BACKGROUND Approximately 16,000 children are transported by ambulances each day, and there are an estimated 4,500 ambulance crashes each year. Information about emergency medical services (EMS) provider knowledge, opinions, and behaviors regarding occupant restraint is lacking. OBJECTIVES To measure the knowledge, opinions, and behaviors of EMS personnel regarding child and provider restraint...

INTRODUCTION The objective of this study was to determine if vehicle features associated with LATCH ease-of-use in laboratory studies with volunteers predict LATCH use and misuse in real-world child restraint installations. METHOD Vehicle characteristics were extracted from prior surveys of more than 100 top-selling 2010-13 vehicles. Use and correct use of LATCH was determined from records of...

All hospitals should set policies that require the discharge of every newborn in a car safety seat that is appropriate for the infant's maturity and medical condition. Discharge policies for newborns should include a parent education component, regular review of educational materials, and periodic in-service education for responsible staff. Appropriate child restraint systems should become a be...

BACKGROUND Motor vehicles crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of injury related morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Recent evidence proves that properly used child seat belts can dramatically reduce the risk of severe and life-threatening injury from MVCs. There are rarities of thought and inspiration regarding the use of child seat belts in our society and region, therefore we lac...

In Argentina more than 7,000 people die each year due to traffic injuries. It is an endemic disease, a serious public health problem. There are evidence-based recommendations about how children should ride safety in cars; children through 8 years or 4 feet 9 inches cannot be fastened by the seat belt so they should ride in a child restraint system. These devices significantly reduce the chances...

BACKGROUND Currently, many states are upgrading their child restraint laws to include provisions for the use of age-appropriate restraints through 6 to 8 years of age, with some also requiring rear seating for children, enabling the laws to be in closer alignment with best-practice recommendations. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationships of seating position and restraint status to the risk of...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of a national one week media campaign promoting booster seat use. DESIGN Pre-test, post-test design based on nationally representative random digit dialing telephone survey, with control for exposure to campaign. SETTING Canada. SUBJECTS Parents of children aged 4-9 years. INTERVENTIONS During a one week campaign in May 2004, information on booster ...