Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention
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Comparative Study
Motor vehicle occupant injuries in children 2 years and younger: a comparison between Western Australia and New South Wales 1982-92.
To compare the age specific rate of passenger injury and associated restraint use for children 2 years and younger in the state of Western Australia (WA), with the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia for the period 1982-92. ⋯ As at 1992, WA's population age specific passenger injury rate for children 0-2 years was more than twice the rate in NSW. The comparable rate of reported restraint use by injured children 0-2 years in WA and NSW suggests that non-use of restraints cannot be singled out as the most likely cause of WA's comparatively high rate of injury. It is difficult to determine whether the disparity in rates could be explained by the child passenger's exposure to crash risk factors, as little is known about child passenger levels of exposure to these factors. Further research is needed to address this issue.