State Farm Funds Study on Child Car Seat/Safety

State Farm Insurance Companies has shared claims data with The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on approximately 200 children of policyholders who agreed to participate in a multi-year, collaborative research study, Partners For Child Passenger Safety.

Findings from a recently released interim report of the study reveal that auto accidents are the leading cause of death and acquired disability in U.S. children more than a year old, and unrestrained children are three times more susceptible to sustaining a significant injury in the event of an automobile crash.

Also reported were the following statistics: 30 percent of infants under the age of one year are incorrectly turned forward facing in car seats; 83 percent of children between the ages of four and eight are incorrectly graduated to seat belts designed for adults; 16 percent of 12-year-olds ride in the front seat despite data demonstrating that children in that age group should ride in the back; 82 percent of car seats are incorrectly used in some manner; and 64 percent of major injuries sustained by children in car crashes are to the head.