Study Says 43% Of Kids Who Die In Car Accidents Are Not Buckled Properly

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A new study from The Journal of Pediatrics says that 43 of children who die in car accidents are not buckled in properly.

It goes to show that proper car seat usage is an important factor in whether a child lives or dies in a car crash.

The study shows how crash statistics vary quite widely by state, which strengthens the argument that kids could be better off in certain regions with stronger laws.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that seat belt use is higher for people of all ages in states where seat belt laws are more strict.

The southern states had the worst statistics for kids – with 52 percent of children involved in a fatal crash living in the south.

An author of the study, Dr. Faisal Qureshi, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, hopes the findings will motivate states to improve the strength of their car safety rules and regulations. “The significant state-level variation evident in our findings emphasizes the need for close collaboration between the injury prevention community and those enacting and enforcing legislation,” he says.

Qureshi feels that there could be “potential for a federal intervention in the area of child traffic safety.” He along with the other authors of the study predict that just a 10 percent improvement nationally in the use of safe car seats could decrease the rate of kids dying in crashes from 0.94 per 100,000 to 0.56 per 100,000.

The study also found a factor as seemingly unrelated as red light cameras (which are meant to catch drivers running red lights) have a positive effect on the rate of child deaths from car accidents. Research shows that could be because the cameras reduce the number of “right angle” car accidents at intersections, however, any regulations that help lessen the number of kids dying are worth States examining for possible implementation.

As Parents and guardians, we need to do all we can to ensure proper car seat installation and seat belt use.