TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2009//
TI  - Rear-seat motor vehicle travel in the U.S.: Using national data to define a population at risk
JO  - American journal of preventive medicine
A1  - Trowbridge, Matthew J.
A1  - Kent, Richard W.
SP  - 321
EP  - 323
VL  - 37
IS  - 4
N2  - BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that the relative protection offered by rear seating in motor vehicle crashes has decreased, potentially reflecting disproportionate advancements in front-seat safety technology. Safe adaptation of advanced front-seat restraint systems for the rear-seat environment will require exposure data that are currently unavailable. PURPOSE: This study uses national data to quantify rear-seat occupancy patterns, restraint use, and annual travel exposure in the U.S. in order to support the development of advanced crash protection systems for rear-seat motor vehicle occupants. METHODS: Data from the 2000-2006 National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System and 2001 National Household Transportation Survey were analyzed in 2008 to quantify occupancy patterns (e.g., seat position, restraint use) and annual person-trips for rear-seat passengers in the U.S. RESULTS: The overall proportion of person-trips by rear-seat occupants is relatively low (12.9%); however national at-risk exposure remains significant (approximately 39 billion annual person-trips). Annual rear-seat travel exposure is similar among children < or = 12 years and adults (18.9 vs 19.1 billion person-trips) despite the fact that children are proportionally much more likely to ride in rear positions (79.3% vs 7.4%). Restraint use among adult rear-seat occupants was also much lower than among front-seat occupants (50.4% vs 82.2%). CONCLUSIONS: While rear-seat occupancy is relatively low compared with front-seat occupancy at-risk rear-seat travel by both child and adult passengers in the U.S. remains significant. Restraint use by rear-seat occupants is much lower than that among front-seat passengers, particularly among adults and older children, substantially increasing injury risk. Development of future crash protection systems for rear-seat passengers must account for these exposure patterns to ensure safe and effective integration into production vehicles.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0749-3797
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.05.021
ID  - ref1
ER  -