Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children aged 1-13 in the US — in 2019, a total of 928 children were killed. And according to a recent study by SafeWise, some states have far higher fatality rates than others.
With so many families planning road trips this summer, this is a great time to share these stats with your readers and provide them with the guidance and resources they need to travel safely. SafeWise recently released a report, full of data about car seat safety. A few highlights of the car crash state report:
Below are the states with the most and fewest child car crash fatalities per 100,000. The national rate is 1.7.
Worst states:
- Montana (4.70)
- Mississippi (4.10)
- New Mexico (4.01)
- Alabama (3.99)
- Alaska (3.87)
- Washington, D.C. (0.0)
- Connecticut (0.17)
- Massachusetts (0.63)
- New Jersey (0.74)
- Hawaii (0.78)
More key findings for your coverage:
- In 2019, 495 children under the age of 10 and 433 children ages 10 to 15 died in car accidents. Another 189,000 children from infancy to age 15 were injured.
- Of the children younger than 1 year old who died in motor vehicle accidents in 2018, 17% were unrestrained.
- An estimated 11,606 children under the age of 4 have been saved by car seats between 1975 and 2017
- A properly installed child safety seat can reduce fatal injuries by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers in standard passenger cars
What are some reasons parents and other caregivers might overlook car seat safety?
I think the biggest reason that anyone would overlook some aspects of car seat safety is being in a rush. We live hectic, busy lives and I think sometimes it’s easy to say, “I’m just running to the store or school a mile away,” and then we end up with a false sense of security—in the middle of being in a hurry—and that can be a perfect storm of mistakes if a crash were to happen.
What are some factors that might contribute to the difference in fatality rates between states?
This is such a great question, and I have a couple ideas that are mostly supposition or speculation, but here are some things that seem to be consistent in states that have higher child car crash fatality rates:
More opportunity to get into a crash in the first place: States like Montana and Alaska—both in the top five—are big and that means that even a trip to Grandma’s house could mean hours in the car on a highway.
Extreme weather: States that have severe storms, whether it’s winter weather, monsoon rains, high winds, etc. may be more likely to have crashes with more traumatic outcomes.
More lax laws around child restraints: Only two of the top five states for child car crash fatality rates have any laws requiring caregivers to keep children in a rear-facing car seat—Alabama and Alaska. And those two states only require it up until the first birthday. The other three states in the top five (Montana, Mississippi, and New Mexico) don’t have any rear-facing child seat requirements. This is a huge factor, especially when you learn that a rear-facing seat can reduce infant fatality by 75% in the event of a crash. Plus, experts recommend keeping your child in a rear-facing seat for at least two years.
How can people encourage friends and loved ones to learn more about car seat safety if they aren’t properly using safety restraints when driving?
I think the most important thing is to be encouraging and supportive, not shaming or scolding. If you have kids of your own, or if you take your friend’s children in your car sometimes, be a good example.
Offer to help them get their car seat installed correctly, and ask them what frustrations or challenges they have with using the child restraints regularly and properly, then help them find solutions to help make it easy and manageable for them to take the right precautions to keep their kiddos safe in the car.
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