SUVs No Safer than Passenger Cars for Children, New Study Finds
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SUVs No Safer than Passenger Cars for Children, New Study Finds
Partners for Child Passenger Safety evidence points to need for improved
child occupant protection in rollover crashes
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 3 -- New research from The Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, shows that children riding in SUVs have similar injury risks
to children who ride in passenger cars. The study, published today in the
journal Pediatrics, found that an SUV's increased risk of rolling over
during a crash offset the safety benefits associated with larger,
heavier-weight vehicles.
The study, part of an on-going research collaboration of Children's Hospital
and State Farm Insurance Companies, looked at crashes reported to State Farm
involving 3,933 child occupants between the ages of 0 and 15 years who were
in either SUVs or passenger cars that were model year 1998 or newer.
Rollover contributes significantly to risk of injury in both vehicle types
and occurred twice as frequently in SUVs. Children involved in rollover
crashes were three times more likely to be injured than children in
non-rollovers.
Children who were not properly restrained in a car seat, booster seat or
seatbelt during an SUV rollover were at a 25-fold greater risk for injury as
compared to appropriately restrained children. Nearly half of the
unrestrained children in these crashes (41 percent) suffered a serious
injury versus only three percent of appropriately restrained children in
SUV's. Overall, injury risk for appropriately restrained children in
passenger cars is less than 2 percent.
"SUVs are becoming more popular as family vehicles because they can
accommodate multiple child safety seats and their larger size may lead
parents to believe SUVs are safer than passenger cars," said Dennis Durbin,
MD, M.S.C.E., an emergency physician and clinical epidemiologist at The
Children's Hospital, and co-author on the study. "However, people who use an
SUV as their family vehicle should know that SUV's do not provide superior
protection for child occupants and that age- and size-appropriate restraints
and rear seating for children under 13 years are critically important
because of the increased risk of a rollover crash."
In the 2005 Partners for Child Passenger Safety Fact and Trend Report,
Children's Hospital reported that SUVs in child-involved State Farm crashes
increased from 15 percent in 1999 to 26 percent in 2004, while the
percentage of passenger cars decreased from a high of 54 percent in 1999 to
43 percent in 2004. There was no or little growth in the percentage of
minivans in the study population -- 24 percent in 2004.
"We want parents to be able to make fully informed decisions regarding the
choice of vehicle for their family," says Lauren Daly, MD, co-author of the
study. "Ideally, a safe family car has enough rear-row seating positions
with lap-and-shoulder belts for every child under 13 that requires them and
enough remaining rear-row positions to install child safety seats for
infants and toddlers."
Previous Children's Hospital research has shown that, within each vehicle
classification, larger heavier vehicles are generally safer. For instance,
of all passenger car classifications, large and luxury cars feature lower
child injury risk than mid-size or small passenger cars. Among SUVs,
mid-size and small SUVs had similar injury risks, which were two times
higher than large SUVs. Compact extended-cab pickup trucks present a unique
risk to children- child occupants in the rear row of compact extended cab
pick-ups face a five- fold increased risk of injury in a crash as compared
to rear-seated children in all other vehicle types.
Parents who are unsure of how to choose and install car safety seats or
booster seats can visit http://www.chop.edu/carseat to find educational
videos and information, or they can locate a certified child passenger
safety technician in their community who will teach them how to install the
seat properly.
About Partners for Child Passenger Safety
Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) is a research collaboration
between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm. As of
February 2005, PCPS has created a database containing information on more
than 377,000 crashes involving more than 557,000 children from birth through
age 15 years. It is the world's largest study of children in motor vehicle
crashes.
Thanks for the article, Trina. Dh and I are going to buy a new vehicle sometime this year. We have been looking at getting another Sienna, but I also like the Honda Pilot. This definitely sways me toward a new Sienna.
Deb, we currently own our second Sienna ('04) and LOVE it! We opted for the AWD version and couldn't be happier.
We have a 98 Sienna now, and have really loved it. I do like the new Sienna, but was kind of interested in the Pilot too. Dh really wants to get another Sienna.
We love our 2005 VW Passat TDI. It was very comfortable riding, when we took our Niagara trip and I'm really looking forward to riding in it, when we to to South Dakota next year, especially now that we have the IPOD, too! It has great fuel economy, with the diesel fuel.
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