Citation

Narayan KM, Ruta D, Beattie T. Arch. Dis. Child. 1997; 77(4): 335-338.

Affiliation

Department of Public Health Medicine, Grampian Health Board, Aberdeen.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9389239

PMCID

PMC1717332

Abstract

AIMS: To quantify the increased risk of non-fatal injury when children travel unrestrained in a car, and to identify other preventable risk factors. METHODS: Case-control study of 78 children presenting to an accident and emergency (A&E) department having sustained an injury while travelling in a car, and 97 children attending an A&E outpatient clinic with conditions unrelated to road traffic accidents. RESULTS: Seat restraint was associated with a 93% lower risk of child accident injury. A driver with points on the licence was over five times more likely to have had an accident resulting in child injury than a driver without points. Child accident injury was also associated with the driver's accident history. CONCLUSIONS: These data allow the effect of achieving new target levels of seat restraint use to be estimated. Strategies aimed at reducing the risk of further accident among drivers with a history of accident may have a beneficial impact on childhood accident injuries.