The Danish Accident Investigation Board (AIB) has carried out an investigation into 23 accidents involving children in cars, with an emphasis on possible recommendations concerning the safety equipment for children. As the aim was to investigate the effect of the safety equipment for the children, the focus was on the injury mechanisms in the accidents in respect of the children, whereas there were no analyses of the accident mechanisms in great detail. Thus, accidents were not analysed in respect of for instance accident factors, and those involved were not interviewed. The circumstances of the accidents were thoroughly investigated by vehicle inspectors, the police and medical personnel, and the sequence of events in the accidents was reconstructed to clarify the impact on children and safety equipment. The practical use of child safety equipment is also illustrated by a quantitative survey carried out by the AIB in cooperation with the Danish Road Safety Council. (Author/publisher)
Abstract