Risk of injury to restrained children from passenger airbags.
The number of children killed by passenger airbags (PAB) has declined dramatically in recent years. However, little is known about how commonly children are exposed to PAB, and their risk of nonfatal injuries. Data between 12/1/98 and 11/30/01 from the Partners for Child Passenger Safety study, a unique child-focused crash surveillance system, were used to determine the risk of nonfatal injuries to restrained children in frontal impact crashes. Nearly 1% of all children in crashes were exposed to a deploying PAB. A specific pattern of facial, chest, and upper extremity injuries were found to be significantly more likely in airbag -exposed children. These real-world data may be of use to vehicle manufacturers and restraint suppliers as they face design decisions with regard to child passengers.
D000293:Adolescent; D017278:Air Bags / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012622:Seat Belts; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology