• M J Kallan, K B Arbogast, M R Elliott, and D R Durbin.
• Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. mkallan@mail.med.upenn.edu
• Inj. Prev. 2009 Feb 1;15(1):8-12.

ObjectiveTo compare the fatal and non-fatal crash injury risk for children in minivans compared with midsize and large sport utility vehicles (SUVs).DesignThree large population-based sources of US crash data were used--a nationwide cohort of sampled police-reported crashes (NASS-CDS) along with a census of fatal crashes (FARS), plus a large child crash surveillance system, Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS)--collected in 16 states via insurance claim records and validated telephone survey. Each included: 2000-2006 data, occupants aged 0-15 years, traveling in minivan or (midsize/large) SUV, model year 1998-2007. Outcome of interest was parent/driver report of non-fatal injury (Abbreviated Injury Scale scores of 2 or higher) in PCPS and fatal injury in NASS-CDS/FARS.ResultsCompared with children riding in SUVs, those in minivans experienced a similar crude reduction in the relative risk of non-fatal injury (PCPS: unadjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.55) and fatality (NASS-CDS/FARS cohort: unadjusted OR = 0.58). In PCPS, this reduction in injury risk changed little after adjustment for child, driver, and vehicle factors (adjusted OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.82). Lower fatality risk in the NASS-CDS/FARS cohort was partially explained by the same factors (adjusted OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.51 to 1.13).ConclusionsThere may be important safety differences in vehicles during a crash that lead to fewer non-fatal injuries to child occupants of minivans compared with SUVs.

28 keywords...

hide…