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Paediatric driveway run-over injuries: time to redesign?
Kai Hsun Hsiao1, Clinton Newbury, Nita Bartlett
1Starship Children's Hospital, Private Bag 92024, Auckland, New Zealand.
Insights
Driveway run-over injuries disproportionately affect young children, especially in homes lacking fenced play areas. Physical separation between driveways and living spaces is crucial for preventing these tragic accidents.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Injury Prevention
- Environmental Health and Safety
- Public Health Research
Background:
- Driveway run-over incidents represent a significant cause of severe injury and fatality in young children.
- Understanding the contributing factors is essential for developing effective prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify demographic, accident, and environmental characteristics of driveway run-over injuries.
- To pinpoint modifiable factors and inform prevention strategies for these incidents.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective review of children under 15 hospitalized or deceased from driveway run-overs in Auckland, New Zealand (Nov 2001-Dec 2005).
- Data collection included demographics, accident circumstances, environmental factors, and parental awareness via clinical records and interviews.
Main Results:
- 93 cases were identified, with a median age of 2 years (73% under 5); 9 fatalities occurred.
- Injuries predominantly happened on home driveways (80%), often used as play areas (64%), with only 13% fenced.
- Many properties were rented (51%), with long (51%) or shared driveways (51%).
Conclusions:
- Lack of physical separation between driveways and children's living/play areas is a key risk factor.
- Further research is needed to determine optimal methods for implementing separation in existing and new properties.
Aims:
To investigate the demographic, accident, and environmental characteristics associated with driveway run-over injuries in order to identify potentially modifiable factors and prevention strategies
Methods:
Retrospective review of all children less than 15 years old who were hospitalised or killed due to a driveway run-over injury in the Auckland region of New Zealand over the 50-month period, November 2001 to December 2005. Data was collected on the demographics, accident and environmental characteristics, and parental awareness. Data was obtained from clinical records and telephone interviews with parents.
Results:
A total of 93 cases were identified, including 9 fatalities. The median age was 2 years with 73% under 5 years old. Children of Pacific Island and Maori ethnicity comprised 43% and 25% of cases respectively. Injuries occurred predominately on the child's home driveway (80% of cases). In 64% the driveway was the usual play area for the child. Only 13% of driveways were fenced. 51% were long driveways extending through the section, and 51% were shared with other properties. 51% of properties were rented and of these 57% were government houses.
Conclusion:
The absence of physical separation between driveways and children's play and living areas may predispose to driveway injuries. Further research is needed to investigate the ideal way to implement such separation in current properties and future property developments.
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