Highway Safety Publications Catalog. Articles on Road Engineering,
Road Maintenance & Management, and Injury Litigation. Information and consulting for the Automobile and Road User,
as well as for law professionals in accident investigations.
TranSafety's free consumer journal for automobile and road users,
three subscription journals on road maintenance, engineering,
and injury litigation, and highway safety publications catalog.
See our free consumer journal for automobile and road users,
three subscription journals on road maintenance, engineering,
and injury litigation, and a highway safety publications catalog.
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Young Children Most At-Risk in Off-Road Backing Fatalities
Each year an average of 390 nonoccupants die in off-road crashes involving backing
motor vehicles. These crashes happen somewhere other than on a public road, such as
in private parking lots or driveways. Of this number, a disproportionately high
percentage are children ages 1 to 4. This age group represents 6 percent of the U.S.
population, yet accounts for 30 percent of all off-road backing fatalities. Children may be
particularly vulnerable because their height makes them more difficult to see or because
they do not understand the danger.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
reported these statistics in a February 1997 Research Note entitled "Nonoccupant
Fatalities Associated with Backing Crashes." Obtaining exact numbers with this type of
crash is difficult, since the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) records data only
for fatal crashes that happen on public roads. These statistics, therefore, are an
estimate of backing fatalities obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics
(NCHS), which tabulates data on the cause(s) of death shown on individual death
certificates.
Copyright © 1997 by TranSafety, Inc.
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