Characteristics of Child Passenger Deaths and Injuries Involving Drinking Drivers

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Abstract
Motor vehicle–related injury is the leading cause of death for children and young people aged 1 to 24 years in the United States.1 From 1985-1996, 24% of motor vehicle–related deaths among children involved alcohol; 68% of these alcohol-related deaths involved motor vehicle occupants.2 While the relation of alcohol to the traffic deaths of teenaged drivers is well established,3 there is little information on the role of alcohol in the traffic deaths of younger passengers. In a summary of 1997 traffic safety statistics, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that nearly half of the alcohol-related child traffic deaths involved child passengers riding with drivers who had been drinking alcohol.4 However, this analysis did not separately consider the alcohol-related deaths of child passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.