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Ejections of young children in motor vehicle crashes
Andrew Howard1, Ali Moses McKeag, Linda Rothman
1Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Ottawa, Canada. andrew.howard@sickkids.ca
Insights
Ejection from vehicles is a significant risk for fatally injured children, with 29% of child fatalities involving ejection. Certain child safety seats may not prevent toddler ejection during rollovers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric injury prevention
- Traffic safety research
- Child passenger safety
Background:
- Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children.
- Child safety seats are crucial for mitigating injuries, but ejection remains a concern.
- Understanding ejection mechanisms is vital for improving child restraint systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of vehicle ejection among children in motor vehicle crashes.
- To describe a new ejection pathway from child safety seats.
- To analyze the role of ejection in child fatalities.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the U.S. National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System and Fatality Analysis Reporting System databases (1995-1999).
- Prospective study of children in severe car crashes across two Canadian centers.
- Review of crash data focusing on ejection incidents and child restraint usage.
Main Results:
- Ejection occurred in only 0.2% of over 5.5 million child crash involvements.
- However, 29% of 6570 child fatalities involved ejection.
- Rollover crashes, though infrequent (2.2%), accounted for 28% of child passenger fatalities.
- Three toddlers were ejected through shoulder straps of forward-facing child safety seats during rollover incidents.
Conclusions:
- Vehicle ejection is a common factor in child fatalities, accounting for 29% of cases.
- Child safety seats with shoulder straps alone may not prevent toddler ejection during rollovers.
- Further research into child restraint system design is needed to prevent ejection in rollover crashes.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to report the incidence of ejection from the vehicle among children involved in motor vehicle crashes, and to describe a novel mode of ejection from child safety seats.
Methods:
The U.S. National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System databases from 1995 through 1999 were analyzed. A prospective two-center study of children involved in severe car crashes in Canada was performed.
Results:
Only 0.2% of 5.5 million children involved in crashes experienced ejection, but 1924 (29%) of 6570 child fatalities involved ejections. Only 2.2% of children experienced rollover crashes, but these contributed 1832 (28%) of 6570 child passenger fatalities. Among 56 crashes, 5 restrained young children were ejected, 4 in rollover crashes. Ejection of a toddler through the shoulder straps of a forward-facing child safety seat was the mechanism of ejection in three of the five cases.
Conclusion:
Ejection from the vehicle is common (29%) among fatally injured children. Shoulder straps alone (as found in T-shield or overhead shield child seats) may not prevent the ejection of toddlers from child safety seats during rollovers.