In the event of a crash, the risk of injury to children is significantly lower when driven by a grandparent versus a parent, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia CHOP) and published in the journal Pediatrics. Unlike the English sign depicted on the right, grandparents crash data indicate a noticeable safer outcome.

Although crashes with grandparent drivers comprised 9.5 percent of the crashes studied, only 6.6 percent of the injuries occurred with grandparents behind the wheel. The study was funded by the Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies (CChIPS) at CHOP, an Industry University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and 13 industry member companies.

Researchers examined crash data on 11,859 children from 2003 to 2007 from the Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) study. In comparing grandparent drivers to parent drivers, nearly all child occupants were restrained at the time of the crash (98% versus 99%). However, 26 percent of grandparent drivers did not ensure that their child passengers were properly restrained in car seats or seat belts versus 19 percent of parent drivers, with 4 to 8-year-old passengers the most likely to be improperly restrained. After controlling for other factors, children involved in crashes with grandparents behind the wheel were half as likely to be injured as those driven by parents.

These findings are important since older driver age, especially 65 and up, has long been associated with increased risk of motor vehicle crashes and older adults are often called upon to transport their grandchildren. “With more baby boomers becoming grandparents, we were concerned about children in crashes with grandparents,” says Fred Henretig, MD, lead author and an attending physician in CHOP’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “Although the children in crashes with grandparents could be better protected if they were following best practices for using child restraints, we were surprised to find that there is something about grandparents’ driving style with their ‘precious cargo’ in tow that provides a protective benefit for those children. If we can learn more about this style of driving, we can help drivers of all ages keep kids safe in cars.”

While further research needs to be conducted to better clarify the protective effect of grandparent drivers, study authors believe they may drive more cautiously when transporting their grandchildren. Subsequent studies of grandparent driving practices while carrying grandchildren may help inform future child-occupant driving education guidelines for all drivers. “With grandparents taking on a greater role in transporting their grandchildren, less optimal use of child restraints concerns us,” says Flaura Koplin Winston, MD, PhD, coauthor of the study and co-director of CChIPS at CHOP. “It is vital that parents and grandparents continue to share child passenger safety knowledge and that grandparents have the same opportunity to receive the latest recommendations on how to properly restrain their grandchildren in cars as parents do.”

Pages: 1 · 2

More Articles

• How I Joined the Revolution in New Body Parts
• Pew Research Center: On Gender Differences, No Consensus on Nature vs. Nurture; Americans Say Society Places a Higher Premium on Masculinity Than on Femininity
• The National Trend Toward Pushing Cannabis into Mainstream Culture; Seniors Increasingly Getting High
• Medicare and Social Security: Changes Needed to Avoid Consequences Are More Urgent
• CDC: Among Women in Their Early '60s, Suicide Rates Increased By Nearly 60 Percent
• For Women, A Serious Crisis of Retirement
• Encountering Unusual Headwinds: Fed Reserve Vice Chair Yellen Explains the Painfully Slow Recovery for America's Workers
• A Subject for the Next Debate? A New CBO Report on Social Security's Funding Gap
• Even with Dyed Hair, “Grey Power” Has Taken Root
• Gender and Body Image: Women 50 and Over Revealed What They Think and Feel