Nontraffic Injuries and Fatalities In Young Children

Nontraffic Injuries and Fatalities In Young Children

ArticlePress release
Teen Health
Current Medical News
Contributed byMaulik P. Purohit MD MPHOct 02, 2017

Over the last couple of decades, significant reductions in vehicle crash-related child fatalities have been attributed to advances in legislation, public safety campaigns and engineering. However, less is known about nontraffic injuries and fatalities (occurring primarily in driveways and parking lots) to children in and around motor vehicles.

A new Traffic Injury Prevention journal study, Unintentional Nontraffic Injury and Fatal Events: Threats to Children In and Around Motor Vehicles, describes the frequency of various nontraffic incidents, injuries, and fatalities to children using a unique surveillance system and database. The database was developed and is maintained by KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping children safe in and around motor vehicles. Examples of nontraffic events include backovers, children left in hot vehicles, frontovers, children inadvertently knocking vehicles into gear, and others.

The new study describes the national incidence of various nontraffic incidents, injuries, and fatalities to children in the United States using a comprehensive, longstanding surveillance system and database. Prior studies have focused on certain types of nontraffic mechanisms such as backovers, heatstroke, power window strangulation, trunk entrapment, etc. In addition to focusing on just a single mechanism, many of these studies have also been limited by institutional or regional estimates, or a narrow time period. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published recent periodic nontraffic incident summaries, including those with child-specific data. The significance of this study is that it is the first detailed analysis that includes all types of nontraffic vehicular dangers to young children.

Instances of nontraffic injuries and fatalities in the United States to children 0-14 years were tracked from 1990-2014 using a compilation of sources including media reports, individual accounts from victims and their families, medical examiner reports, police reports, child death review teams, coroner reports, medical professionals, lawyers and various modes of publications. There were over 11,750 distinct incidents in a variety of venues and vehicles affecting 14,568 children 14 years and younger, resulting in nearly 3,400 deaths of which 47 percent of whom were male, and with an average age of 42 months.

"While we have made great progress in reducing injuries to children in motor vehicle crashes, this study describes the burden of nontraffic incidents and deaths to children 14 years old and younger over a 25-year period, including: children left in hot vehicles, backovers, frontovers, and other mechanisms," said Dr. Mark Zonfrillo, a pediatric emergency medicine physician and injury researcher from Hasbro Children's Hospital and Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and lead author of the study. "These nontraffic incidents present an important and often underreported threat to the safety and lives of young children, and are completely preventable" he added.

"These issues have been masked for decades by the age-old problem of, no data; no problem. Once thought of and referred to as 'freak accidents,' this study reveals just how common nontraffic incidents really are," said Janette Fennell, president and founder of KidsAndCars.org. "Continued education, engineering modifications, advocacy, and legislation can help continue to prevent these incidents and must be incorporated into overall child vehicle safety initiatives."


Materials provided by Brown UniversityNote: Content may be edited for style and length.

Disclaimer: DoveMed is not responsible for the accuracy of the adapted version of news releases posted to DoveMed by contributing universities and institutions.

References:

Mark R. Zonfrillo, Mackenzie L. Ramsay, Janette E. Fennell, Amber Rollins. (2017). Unintentional nontraffic injury and fatal events: threats to children in and around vehiclesTraffic Injury Prevention. DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2017.1369053

Was this article helpful

On the Article

Maulik P. Purohit MD MPH picture
Approved by

Maulik P. Purohit MD MPH

Assistant Medical Director, Medical Editorial Board, DoveMed Team

0 Comments

Please log in to post a comment.

Related Articles

Test Your Knowledge

Asked by users

Related Centers

Loading

Related Specialties

Loading card

Related Physicians

Related Procedures

Related Resources

Join DoveHubs

and connect with fellow professionals

Related Directories

Who we are

At DoveMed, our utmost priority is your well-being. We are an online medical resource dedicated to providing you with accurate and up-to-date information on a wide range of medical topics. But we're more than just an information hub - we genuinely care about your health journey. That's why we offer a variety of products tailored for both healthcare consumers and professionals, because we believe in empowering everyone involved in the care process.
Our mission is to create a user-friendly healthcare technology portal that helps you make better decisions about your overall health and well-being. We understand that navigating the complexities of healthcare can be overwhelming, so we strive to be a reliable and compassionate companion on your path to wellness.
As an impartial and trusted online resource, we connect healthcare seekers, physicians, and hospitals in a marketplace that promotes a higher quality, easy-to-use healthcare experience. You can trust that our content is unbiased and impartial, as it is trusted by physicians, researchers, and university professors around the globe. Importantly, we are not influenced or owned by any pharmaceutical, medical, or media companies. At DoveMed, we are a group of passionate individuals who deeply care about improving health and wellness for people everywhere. Your well-being is at the heart of everything we do.

© 2023 DoveMed. All rights reserved. It is not the intention of DoveMed to provide specific medical advice. DoveMed urges its users to consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and answers to their personal medical questions. Always call 911 (or your local emergency number) if you have a medical emergency!