Effects of legislation on motor vehicle injuries to children
P. F. Agran, D. E. Dunkle and D. G. Winn
This study was designed to evaluate the effects of a child passenger safety
law on pediatric motor vehicle trauma, as seen from the perspective of a
hospital emergency room setting. The data were obtained from an ongoing
monitoring system consisting of nine hospital emergency rooms in Orange
County, California, and the county coroner's office. All children under the
age of 15 years evaluated in the monitored emergency rooms after
involvement in a motor vehicle crash were included. The years 1981 and 1982
constituted the prelaw period; 1983 and 1984, the postlaw period. Those
children 4 years of age or older, namely, those who were not covered by the
child safety law, were the control population. The major findings for
children less than 4 years of age were that (1) restraint use increased
from 26% in the prelaw period to 50% in the postlaw period; (2) a
significant decrease in the number of injured was documented; (3) head
injuries decreased by 17%; and (4) hospital emergency room utilization did
not decrease.
