Back-over collisions in child pedestrians from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program
Cindy Nhan1, Linda Rothman, Morgan Slater
1University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.
Insights
Child pedestrian back-over collisions, though infrequent, often result in severe injuries. Interventions must consider various ages and locations to prevent these incidents.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Injury Prevention
- Traffic Safety
Background:
- Child pedestrian motor vehicle collisions are a significant public health concern.
- Back-over incidents represent a specific, often under-recognized, mechanism of injury.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the burden of back-over collisions among children.
- To compare injury severity in back-over versus other child pedestrian collisions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) from 1994-2003.
- Identified and classified back-over collisions involving children under 14.
- Compared injury characteristics for hospitalized children.
Main Results:
- 148 (3.4%) of 4295 child pedestrian collisions were back-over incidents.
- Back-over collisions involved younger children but also affected those over age 4.
- Hospitalized children in back-over collisions had higher rates of internal organ injuries.
Conclusions:
- Back-over collisions, despite being a small fraction, lead to more severe injuries.
- Risk extends beyond young children and driveways, necessitating broader interventions.
- Targeted prevention strategies are crucial for diverse age groups and settings.
Objective:
The objective of the current study was to describe the burden of back-over collisions within the context of other child pedestrian collisions as identified through a pediatric emergency room injury surveillance database.
Methods:
Injury data for child pedestrian motor vehicle collisions from 1994 to 2003 were obtained from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP). Back-over collisions involving children under the age of 14 were identified and classified by written narratives. Characteristics of children involved in back-over collisions were described, and for those admitted to hospital, the nature of injury was compared with other types of child pedestrian collisions.
Results:
There were 4295 child pedestrian motor vehicle collisions reported to CHIRPP during the study time period. Of the 4295 children, 148 (3.4%) were injured in a back-over collision, with 49 (33.1%) of these collisions involving a vehicle backing out of a driveway. Children involved in back-over collisions were significantly younger than those in forward-moving/other collisions; however, almost 50 percent of back-over collisions involved children older than age 4. Children involved in back-over collisions on driveways were significantly younger than those involved in collisions occurring at other locations. Of those admitted to hospital, children in back-over collisions were more likely to sustain injuries to internal organs. Children in back-over collisions were less likely to sustain severe/mild head injuries and hip/leg fractures.
Conclusions:
Although back-over collisions represent a small proportion of pedestrian motor vehicle collisions, they tend to involve more severe injuries, as indicated by their admission to hospital. It was found that older children are also at risk of back-over collisions and back-over collisions occur in areas other than driveways. In order to lessen the burden of back-over collisions, interventions must address children of different ages and a variety of locations.
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