How Children With Special Needs Travel With Their Parents: Observed Versus Reported Use of Vehicle Restraints

This article explores the use of vehicle restraints when children with special needs travel with their parents. The authors report on a study undertaken to assess the prevalence of nonuse and misuse of child restraints in the special-needs population and to assess the validity of using parental report as a measure of child restraint use. The study included the observation of restraint use in 115 children with special needs, aged 0 to 18 years, on their arrival at the parking lot of the Alyn Hospital Pediatric Rehabilitation Center in Jerusalem. In 94 cases, the parents were interviewed later that day in the clinic. Results showed that 70% of the children were observed as traveling unrestrained or with a restraint that was grossly misused to the extent that it provided no meaningful protection. The remaining children were observed displaying a variety of errors in the selection or use of the restraint that compromised their safety to varying degrees. When parental self-reporting was obtained, data revealed a 44% overreporting of child restraint use. The authors conclude that this population is at risk and stress that there is a need for intervention regarding restraint use when transporting children with special needs, including tailored assessment and intervention in the area of child-passenger safety.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00314005
• Authors:
  • Korn, Taube
  • Katz-Leurer, Michal
  • Meyer, Shirley
  • Gofin, Rosa
• Publication Date: 2007-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 637-642
• Serial:
  • Pediatrics
  • Volume: 119
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics
  • ISSN: 0031-4005
  • EISSN: 1098-4275
  • Serial URL: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Child restraint systems; Children; Parents; Passengers; Persons with disabilities; Safety equipment; Special user groups
• Uncontrolled Terms: Parenting; Passenger safety
• Geographic Terms: Jerusalem
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Vehicles and Equipment; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01050093
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 29 2007 8:59PM