Kiddies Safer with Grannie and Gramps

In July I was surprised by a story on page A5 titled, "Kids Safer When Grandma Drives?" in the Huntsville Times and I have been carrying it around ever since to conduct some research on the topic. As my readers know, the media "spins" the story certain ways and I never take their information to the bank but rather, dig in and find the original research myself. The Huntsville Times story actually stemmed from a journal article in the July 18, 2011 edition of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The research was conducted by Pennsylvania physicians Fred M. Henretig, Dennis R. Durbin, Flaura K. Winston and Michael J. Kallan, MS.

The researchers set out to find if children were at greater risk for crash injuries when grandparents drove versus parent drivers. Their hypothesis going into the study was, "... that grandparent-driven children would be at increased risk of injury" (Henretig, Durbin, Kallan, & Winston, 2011, p. 290). The data included records from 12,000 children up to age fifteen. Using content analysis methodology and studying State Farm Insurance claims for 2003-2007 in fifteen states, they found just the opposite: Children are SAFER with the grandparent drivers :-) and the majority of older adult drivers did NOT install the child restraints properly.

The researchers were surprised, as these findings were unexpected. Some speculation as to WHY the grandparents are safer is just that, speculation. First, the average grandparent age was 58, while the image of the typical grandparent is a much older person in physical decline. Second, only ten percent of children rode with their grandparents and BUT the children had PROPORTIONATELY fewer injuries. Third, it was speculated that grandparents were less distracted or "frazzled" than parents who are rushing around in busy traffic. The researchers could not explain why with the child restraints improperly installed, there were fewer injuries 8-/

This study found that "children's risk for injury was fifty percent lower when riding with grandparents than parents," Henretig et al., p. 293 ...but child safety and restraint misuse could be enhanced (p. 294).

Way to go granny and grandpa! I do agree with the researchers that older adults should learn how to properly install those child safety restraints! AgeDog

Henretig, F.M., Durbin, D.R., Kallan, M.J., & Winston, F.K. (2011, August). Grandparents driving grandchildren: An evaluation of child passenger safety and injuries. Pediatrics, 128(2). 289-295. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-0046

Tanner, L. (2011, July 18). Kids safer when grandma drives? The Huntsville Times, pp. A5.