THE PEDIATRIC PASSENGER: TRENDS IN SEATBELT USE AND INJURY PATTERNS

Injury patterns and use of passenger restraints were studied in 91 children injured while riding in motor vehicles and admitted to The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, from June 1984 thorugh December 1985. Of these, 44 had used restraints and 38 had not. Age and sex distributions were closely matched in both study groups. The no-restraint group had more massive head injuries, thoracic injuries, and liver and spleen injuries than the restraint group. Classic 'seatbelt syndrome' injuries were seen in the seatbelt group. The overall Injury Severity Scores were not significantly different between the groups. Despite mandatory legislation, many children do not use restraints, and many who do still suffer severe or fatal injuries. We conclude that better compliance with existing passenger restraint laws and more effective restraint systems are needed.

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• Corporate Authors:

  Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

  428 East Preston Street
  Baltimore, MD  United States  21202
• Authors:
  • Hoffman, M A
  • Spence, L J
  • Wesson, D E
  • Armstrong, P F
  • Williams, J I
  • Filler, R M
• Publication Date: 1987-9

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 974-976
• Serial:
  • Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection and Critical Care
  • Volume: 27
  • Issue Number: 9
  • Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
  • ISSN: 0022-5282

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Abdomen; Child restraint systems; Children; Compliance; Head; Hospitals; Injuries; Laws; Manual safety belts; Thorax; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Head injuries
• Subject Areas: Law; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00490741
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-040 375
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 31 1990 12:00AM