Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA.
The safety of rear-seated child passengers was evaluated across vehicle types. 113,887 children under age 16 in crashes were enrolled as part of an on-going crash surveillance system which links insurance claims data to telephone survey and crash investigation data. Children in the second row suffered less significant injuries than those in the front in all vehicle types except compact extended cab pickup trucks in which the risk for children in the rear was 13% as compared to 2.8% for front-seated occupants. Further research is needed to identify the child and vehicle characteristics which might explain this increased injury risk.