Child passengers injured in motor vehicle crashes.

INTRODUCTION During 2010, 171,000 children aged 0-14 were injured in motor vehicle crashes. Despite the severity of the problem, research has been limited, and most of what we know about these children emanates from fatal crash databases. METHOD Using information from the General Estimates System, this effort examines the occurrence of non-fatal crashes among children aged 0-14 over the last decade. RESULTS We found that about 1% of the non-injured children in the file had been driven by a driver who was positive for alcohol. This percentage climbed to about 2% among children who had suffered injuries. Compared with the proportion of alcohol-positive drivers at the time of the crash, the proportion of drivers who sped or failed to obey a traffic signal was significantly higher. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The finding that drinking and driving with children did not decrease over time questions the adequacy of the extant child endangerment laws.

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