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Do Grandparents make better drivers?

07/18/2011 16:34:00 admin
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by Aimee Keenan-Greene

Getting behind the wheel with Grandpa and Grandma may be safer for kids.

According to the new study published in the August issue of Pediatrics , children are safer in a crash when someone over the age of 65 is driving. The study examined five years worth of crash data that included 217,976 children. Grandparents comprised 9.5 percent of drivers in crashes but resulted in only 6.6 percent of the total injuries. 

Children in grandparent-driven crashes had half the risk of injuries as those in parent-driven crashes. 

Nearly all children were reported to be restrained at the time of the crash, however children in grandparent-driven vehicles were less likely to be "optimally restrained". 

Study authors note children’s safety could be enhanced further if grandparents followed current child restraint guidelines.

  • Always use a car safety seat for infants and young children. All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat until  2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the car safety seat manufacturer. Once your child has outgrown the rear-facing height or weight limit, she should ride in a forward-facing car safety seat. Updated recommendations on safe travel can be found on the AAP parenting Web site:www.healthychildren.org/carseatguide.
  • A child who has outgrown her car safety seat with a harness (she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat) should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age).
  • All children under 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles.
  • Never place a rear-facing car safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has an airbag.

More than 30 states have primary seat belt laws, including Rhode Island, Maine and Connecticut. 
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