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This study describes nonfatal interactions between children and front passenger air bags. Twelve surviving children aged 12 and younger who experienced passenger air bag deployments were identified from hospital emergency department records and police accident reports. Data from crash reconstructions and medical records were analyzed to determine mechanisms responsible for each injury sustained. Four of six children in safety seats and one of six children restrained in lap/shoulder belts sustained significant brain injuries. It is recommended that infant seats and forward facing safety seats be placed in the rear seats of vehicles equipped with passenger air bags.

This study investigates the role of restraint misuse in pediatric motor vehicle trauma. Restrained children ages 0-12 years who were injured in motor vehicle crashes and admitted to a trauma center were studied. Restraint use was determined via crash reconstruction. Clinical data were collected prospectively and analyzed with respect to injury severity, and cost. Restraint misuse was found for 84% of children. Incorrectly restrained children experienced a higher mean ISS than correctly restrained children (12.3 vs. 7.1; p = 0.05) and incurred medical charges more than 2 times higher (US$36,839 vs. $15,004; p = 0.013). Case presentations illustrate patterns of injury associated with types of misuse. Incorrect restraint use is associated with greater injury severity and higher medical charges.

The paper reviews one hundred and three (103) cases of restrained children involved in motor vehicle crashes and admitted to the level I trauma center at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC). Thirty percent (30%) of these cases involved injuries with an Abbreviated InjuryScore (AIS) severity of 3 or greater. All cases are classified first by type of restraint system, i.e. infant seat, convertible seat, booster seat, lap belt, and lap and shoulder belt, and second, by type of injury sustained, i.e. head/face and neck, upper extremity, thorax, pelvic and abdominal, and lower extremity. The links between these classifications are examined to identify particular injury patterns associated with the use of individual restraint systems, e.g. the incidence of pelvic and abdominal injury associated with the use of both lap and lap and shoulder belts. For the severe injury cases the paper further examines the injury mechanisms for the most commonly observed patterns.