A new report, "Safe Seating Positions for Children", from researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in collaboration with State Farm Insurance Companies and the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses the importance of car seats and safety belts for kids.
The report describes new findings from ongoing research on children in motor vehicle crashes. It is the largest study of its kind to date.
Since 1998, more than 370,000 State Farm policyholders have shared auto crash information with researchers at Children’s Hospital, who use this data to determine the best ways to protect children in crashes.
"The single most important life-saving decision parents can make for their child is to use the rear seat and age- and size-appropriate restraint during every card ride, every time," said Flaura Winston, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the Children’s Hospital/State Farm study. "We know that, overall, children seated in the front seat are 40 percent more likely to sustain serious injuries in a crash than are children who sit in the rear seat of vehicles."
The deployment of passenger airbags and contact with the hard surfaces of the dashboard and windshield are common causes of injury for children who ride in the front seat, said Dr. Winston.