U.S. Department 

Of Trans National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

 portation 

DOT HS 809 784 July 2005 

Technical Report 

Child Passenger Fatalities and Injuries, 

Based on Restraint Use, Vehicle Type, Seat 

Position, and Number of Vehicles in the Crash

Published By: 

NHTSA’s 

National Center for Statistics and Analysis 

This document is available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 
 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590
Technical Report Documentation Page 

1. Report No. 

DOT HS 809 784

2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date

Child Passenger Fatalities and Injuries, July 2005 

Based on Restraint Use, Vehicle Type, Seat Position,

the Crash 

and Number of Vehicles in 6. Performing Organization Code 

NPO-121 

7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.

Starnes, Marc 

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 

Mathematical Analysis Division, National Center for Statistics and Analysis 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

NPO-101, 400 Seventh Street SW. 

Washington, DC 20590

11. Contract or Grant No.

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered 

Mathematical Analysis Division, National Center for Statistics and Analysis NHTSA Technical Report 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

NPO-101, 400 Seventh Street SW. 

Washington, DC 20590

14. Sponsoring Agency Code 

15. Supplementary Notes 

16. Abstract 

In both single-vehicle and multi-vehicle crashes, unrestrained children in passenger cars or LTVs (sport utility vehicle, 

van, or pickup) were more likely to be killed (among fatal crashes) or injured (among non-fatal crashes), as compared to 

restrained children. 

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, unrestrained children in LTVs were from 2.5 to 5.4 times as likely to be fatally injured as 

children who were restrained; comparatively, for children in passenger cars, being unrestrained made the child 1.6 to 1.8 

times as likely to be fatally injured. Child passenger age categories in this report were 0-3, 4-7, and 8-15 years old.

In fatal crashes, restrained children in passenger cars were more likely to be fatally injured than restrained children in 

LTVs. Restrained children in the front seat were more likely to be fatally injured than restrained children in second seat. 

In two-vehicle fatal crashes involving a passenger car and an LTV, a larger percent of passengers traveling in the

passenger car were fatally injured than those traveling in the LTV. 

The objective of this study is to analyze passenger vehicle crashes involving children up to 15 years old. The Fatality 

Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) General Estimates System

(GES) were consulted to establish restraint usage trends over a 5-year period from 1998 through 2002. The study is

intended to provide a better understanding of where to focus future safety efforts designed to improve highway

transportation for children. 

17. Key Words 

restraint use, injury severity, seating position, vehicle 

body type, passenger vehicles, two-vehicle crash 

18. Distribution Statement

Document is available to the public through the National

Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 

www.ntis.gov

19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price 

Unclassified Unclassified XX

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590
Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary.......................................................................................................1 

1.1. Conclusions.............................................................................................................3 

2. Introduction....................................................................................................................5 

3. Methodology..................................................................................................................6 

4. Percent of Passengers Killed and Percent Survived, by Age of Passenger, Restraint 

Use, Vehicle Body Type, and Number of Vehicles in the Fatal Crash .......................10 

4.1. Child Passengers, Age 0 – 3 .................................................................................10 

4.2. Child Passengers, Age 4 – 7 .................................................................................14 

4.3. Child Passengers, Age 8 – 15 ...............................................................................17 

4.4. Vehicle Passengers, 16 and Older ........................................................................20 

5. Relative Risk of Unrestrained Passengers in a Fatal Crash Being Fatally Injured, 

Compared to Restrained Passengers ............................................................................24 

6. Percent of Passengers Killed, by Seating Position, Age of Passenger, and Restraint 

Use, Among Fatal Crashes...........................................................................................28 

6.1. Restrained Passengers, by Seating Position..........................................................28 

6.2. Unrestrained Passengers, by Seating Position......................................................29 

7. Percent of Passengers Injured, by Age of Passenger, Restraint Use, Vehicle Body 

Type, and Number of Vehicles in the Crash................................................................30 

7.1. Passengers in Single-Vehicle Crashes..................................................................31 

7.2. Passengers in Multi-Vehicle Crashes ...................................................................35 

8. Percent of Passengers Fatally Injured, Among Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes Involving 

Passenger Cars and/or LTVs........................................................................................38 

8.1. Passengers in Two-Vehicle Crashes, Age 0 – 3 ...................................................41 

8.2. Passengers in Two-Vehicle Crashes, Age 4 – 7 ...................................................43 

8.3. Passengers in Two-Vehicle Crashes, Age 8 – 15 .................................................45 

8.4. Passengers in Two-Vehicle Crashes, 16 and Older..............................................47

9. Conclusions 

9.1. Children Are More Likely to Be Fatally Injured When They Are Unrestrained 

Than When They Are Restrained ........................................................................49 

9.2. In Fatal Crashes, the Percent of Restrained Child Passengers Who Are Fatally 

Injured Is Higher in a Passenger Car Than in an LTV .........................................49 

9.3. When a Child Is Unrestrained, Vehicle Body Type Is Less of a Determinant 

of a Child’s Chance of Survival, Than When a Child Is Restrained ....................50 

9.4. Children Are Safer When Traveling in the Second Seat ......................................50 

9.5. Among Most Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes, the Passengers in the Struck Vehicle 

Are More Likely to Be Killed Than Those in the Striking Vehicle .....................50 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 i
9.6. In Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes Between a Passenger Car and an LTV, the Vehicle 

Body Type Plays a Role in the Passenger’s Chance of Survival .........................50 

9.7. Unrestrained Passengers Are Much More Likely to Be Injured Than Restrained 

Passengers.............................................................................................................51 

9.8. Unrestrained Passengers Are at a Higher Risk of Being Injured When in a SingleVehicle Crash Versus in a Multi-Vehicle Crash...................................................51 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 ii
1. Executive Summary 

 

This report, published by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA) National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), provides insight 

into fatalities and injuries to passenger vehicle occupants, based on a variety of 

impact attributes. Variables examined include restraint use, injury severity, crash 

type, vehicle type, seating position, and passenger age. The analysis was based 

on 1998 through 2002 data from NCSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System 

(FARS), a census of fatal motor vehicle crashes; and NCSA’s National 

Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (GES), which collects 

data regarding injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes. 

With the exception of Chapter 7 in this report, which examines non-fatal injuries, 

all charts and tables focus on data collected from crashes where a person was 

fatally injured. Although an analysis of fatal crashes provides valuable 

information, patterns seen in these crashes should be taken in context, given that 

the source of the data is exclusively fatal crashes. 

The fatality and injury risks that passengers face vary by restraint use, vehicle 

type, crash type, and seating position. Passengers are separated into four age 

categories: 0-3, 4-7, 8-15, and 16 and older. The age category of 16 and older is 

designed to put the data on child passengers under 16 into perspective, as the 

report is focused on child passengers. 

Crashes are separated into single-vehicle crashes and multi-vehicle crashes. A 

separate chapter in this report focuses specifically on two-vehicle crashes. 

Vehicles are categorized into passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and 

pickups. The vehicle category of LTV (light trucks and vans) aggregates three of 

the four vehicle body types: sport utility vehicles, vans, and pickups. Drivers are 

not included in this report, as the report focuses on passengers located in the front 

passenger seat (middle and right) or the second seat (left, middle, and right). 

Across all crash types examined in this report, being restrained lowered a 

passenger’s chance of being killed and his chance of being injured, compared to 

when a passenger was unrestrained. In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, unrestrained 

children in LTVs were from 2.5 to 5.4 times as likely to be fatally injured as 

children who were restrained; comparatively, for children in passenger cars, being 

unrestrained made the child 1.6 to 1.8 times as likely to be fatally injured. In fatal 

crashes, restrained children in passenger cars were more likely to be fatally 

injured than restrained children in LTVs. 

In fatal crashes, restrained children in the front seat were more likely to be fatally 

injured compared to restrained children in the second seat. In a non-fatal crash, 

unrestrained passengers are at a higher risk of being injured when they are 

involved in a single-vehicle crash versus being involved in a multi-vehicle crash. 

 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 1
Among two-vehicle fatal crashes, the types of vehicles involved in the crash play 

a role in the likelihood that a passenger is fatally injured. In two-vehicle fatal 

crashes involving a passenger car and an LTV, a larger percent of passengers 

traveling in the passenger car were fatally injured than those traveling in the LTV. 

This report examines these and many other factors pertaining to the safety of 

children in passenger vehicles. This report does not analyze all variables existing 

within the databases created by NCSA. Further analyses can be done which 

expand the understanding of fatality and injury risks facing young children 

traveling within passenger vehicles. NCSA plans to conduct these analyses and 

report the findings in the future. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 2
1.1 Conclusions

Conclusions listed below are based on the following categorical specifications 

included within the FARS and NASS database systems. NCSA will conduct 

further studies based on these conclusions in order to gain more insight into the 

fatality and injury risks facing passengers in motor vehicles. 

Vehicle Type: Passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, pickups. The vehicle 

category of LTV (light trucks and vans) aggregates three of the four vehicle body 

types: sport utility vehicles, vans, and pickups. 

Ages: Among fatal crashes: (age 0-3, 4-7, 8-15, 16 and older). Among non-fatal 

crashes: (age 0-15, 16 and older). 

Restraint Use: Restrained (child safety seat, lap and/or shoulder belt), 

unrestrained 

Seating Positions: Front passenger seat (middle and right) and second seat (left, 

middle, and right). Drivers are not included 

Injury Severity: Among fatal crashes (killed, survived). Among non-fatal 

crashes (injured, not injured). 

Crash Type: Single-vehicle crashes and multi-vehicle crashes 

Years: 1998 through 2002 

Fatal Crashes

3⁄4

3⁄4

3⁄4

3⁄4

3⁄4

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, unrestrained children in either passenger 

cars or LTVs were between 2 and 3 times as likely to have been fatally 

injured as compared to restrained children. 

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, unrestrained children in LTVs were from 

2.5 to 5.4 times as likely to have been fatally injured as children who 

were restrained; comparatively, for children in passenger cars, being 

unrestrained made the child 1.6 to 1.8 times as likely to have been fatally 

injured.

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, restrained children in passenger cars were 

roughly 1.5 times as likely to have been fatally injured as restrained 

children in LTVs. 

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, restrained children in passenger cars were 

roughly 2.5 times as likely to have been fatally injured as restrained 

children in LTVs.

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, unrestrained children in passenger cars 

were more likely to have been fatally injured than unrestrained children 

in LTVs; however this difference was much less than the difference seen 

among restrained children. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 3
3⁄4

3⁄4

3⁄4

3⁄4

In fatal crashes, restrained children in the front seat were roughly 1.5 

times as likely to have been fatally injured compared to restrained 

children in the second seat. 

In fatal crashes, the relative protection provided by traveling in the 

second seat (compared to the front seat) was lessened when the passenger 

is unrestrained. 

In two-vehicle fatal crashes, a much larger percentage of passengers in 

the struck vehicle were fatally injured (50%) compared to passengers in 

the striking vehicle (22%). 

In two-vehicle fatal crashes, when an LTV struck a passenger car, 60 

percent of the passengers in the struck passenger car were fatally injured, 

compared to only 9 percent of the passengers in the striking LTV; 

however, among crashes where a PC struck an LTV, 29 percent of those 

in the struck LTV were killed, while 45 percent of those in the striking 

passenger car were killed. Potential reasons for this difference include 

the fact that LTVs frequently possess a larger mass and higher center of 

gravity than passenger cars 

Non-fatal crashes

3⁄4

3⁄4

3⁄4

In a non-fatal crash, unrestrained passengers were much more likely to 

have been injured than restrained passengers, regardless of many other 

factors involved in the crash (i.e. vehicle type, passenger age, number of 

vehicles involved in the crash). 

In a non-fatal crash, unrestrained passengers were at a higher risk of 

being injured when they were involved in a single-vehicle crash versus 

being involved in a multi-vehicle crash. This may be due to the severity 

of certain crash types (i.e. rollover, striking a fixed object) that are more 

likely to occur during single-vehicle crashes.

In a non-fatal multi-vehicle crash, passengers in an LTV were less likely 

to be injured than were passengers in a passenger car. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 4
2. Introduction 

From 1998 through 2002, more than 160,000 passenger vehicle occupants were 

killed and nearly 13 million were injured in traffic crashes. Over two-thirds of 

these passenger vehicle occupants were drivers, and nearly one-third were 

passengers. 

During this 5-year period, more than 50,000 passengers were killed, and over 4 

million passengers were injured. More than 9,000 of these fatalities and 1.3 

million of these injuries occurred among passengers up to 15 years old. This 

report by NCSA examines crashes that led to these child passenger fatalities and 

injuries. To help put these crashes involving children into perspective, the report 

also examines crashes involving passengers 16 and older. 

The purpose of this report is to: 

o Examine passenger vehicle fatal crashes to determine how a passenger’s 

likelihood of being killed is affected by restraint use, vehicle body type, 

seating position and the number of vehicles involved in the crash. 

o Examine passenger vehicle non-fatal crashes, to see how these same 

variables affect the chance of a passenger being injured. 

o Focus on two-vehicle crashes and investigating the differing roles played 

by the striking vehicle and the struck vehicle. 

o Gain a better understanding of where to focus future safety efforts 

designed to improve highway transportation for children and adults. 

This report analyzes the relationship between a number of factors pertaining to the 

safety of children in passenger vehicles. The report examines children up through 

3 years old, 4 through 7 years old, 8 through 15 years old, and 16 and older. The 

older age category is intended to put the findings pertaining to children into 

perspective. 

This report looks at several important crash factors. Much perspective can be 

gained by looking at the association between these crash factors and the role they 

play in affecting the likelihood that a passenger is killed or injured. For example, 

does the type of vehicle a child is traveling in play a larger role in the crash when 

the child is restrained or when the child is unrestrained? Also, is a passenger in a 

single-vehicle crash more likely to be injured than a passenger in a multi-vehicle 

crash? Additionally, in two-vehicle fatal crashes, does vehicle type sometimes 

lead to passengers in the striking vehicle being more likely to be fatally injured 

than passengers in the struck vehicle? This report will consider these and other 

issues, adjusting for important crash factors. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 5
3. Methodology

This report focuses on examining crashes involving children traveling in 

passenger vehicles. The child’s restraint use and vehicle body type are the 

primary independent variables, and whether or not the child was killed in the 

crash is the dependent variable. The focus of the report is to determine what key 

factors play a role in the child surviving the crash; therefore, for each crash type, 

the percentage of restrained and unrestrained children that were fatally injured in 

the crash was calculated. While the report is focused on child passengers, 

passengers of age 16 and older were also examined in order to help put the 

findings pertaining to children into perspective. 

To provide a better perspective on many of the findings regarding fatal crashes, 

the report also analyzes non-fatal crashes. The injury severity of passengers in 

non-fatal crashes is examined. Passengers in non-fatal crashes are mainly 

categorized as injured or not injured, while passengers in fatal crashes are 

categorized as killed or survived. These variables used to examine fatal crashes 

are also used to examine non-fatal crashes. Looking at both fatal and non-fatal 

crashes helps paint a clearer picture of the role that restraint use, vehicle type, and 

other variables play in determining the injury severity of children in different 

crash types. 

It was necessary to group crashes according to the number of vehicles involved in 

the crash. Crashes were categorized as either single-vehicle crashes or multivehicle crashes. A stratum of multi-vehicle crashes was then examined further by 

focusing on two-vehicle crashes. These two-vehicle crashes were analyzed by 

looking separately at the passengers in the striking vehicle and the passengers in 

the struck vehicle. Due to a limited sample size of crashes for each “strikingstruck” combination and passenger’s age group, the categories for vehicle body 

type for these two-vehicle crashes were aggregated into two categories: passenger 

cars, and LTVs (SUVs, vans, and pickups). 

Two key data sources were used in this report: the Fatality Analysis Reporting 

System (FARS) and the National Automotive Sampling System General 

Estimates System (GES). FARS collects data on a census of fatal crashes, and 

GES collects data from police accident reports regarding injuries resulting from 

police-reported motor vehicle crashes. 

Overall, this report looks at these many FARS and GES passenger vehicle crashes 

in order to teach us more about how certain crash factors affect a passenger’s 

chance of being killed or injured. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 6
Variables 

The following provides an overview of the variables used within this report: 

• Vehicle type – The report examines fatalities and injuries to occupants of 

passenger vehicles. Passenger vehicles include the following vehicle body 

types: passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and pickups. The 

vehicle body type category of LTV (light trucks and vans) aggregates 

three vehicle body types: sport utility vehicles, vans, and pickups. 

• Age – The data are frequently divided into four age categories: 0 through 

3 years old, 4 through 7 years old, 8 through 15, and 16 and older. The 

age category of 16 and older is designed to put the data on child

passengers under 16 into perspective, as the report is focused on child 

passengers. In Chapter 5, the age group 0 through 3 is further separated 

into less than one year old and 1 through 3. In Chapter 7, the age 

categories of 0 through 15 and 16 and older are used. 

• Injury Severity – For all fatal crashes, injury severity is broken down into 

two categories: Survived and Fatally Injured. 

For non-fatal crashes, GES data are obtained from the police crash reports. 

The injury severity discussed in Chapter 7 regarding GES crashes is 

separated into the following four injury severity categories: (A)

incapacitating injury, (B) non-incapacitating injury, (C) possible injury, 

and (O) no injury. These four categories are stratified into two groups: 

“injured,” a combination of categories A, B, and C, and “uninjured,” 

consisting of category O. 

The injury severity variable in the GES database also includes four other 

categories (fatal injury; died prior to crash; unknown if injured; and 

injured, severity unknown), which account for a small percentage of the 

occupants included in GES crashes; these additional categories are not 

included in this report. 

• Restraint Use – A passenger is categorized as being restrained if a lap 

and/or shoulder belt or child restraint was in use at the time of the crash; 

passengers who were restrained but whose restraint type was unknown are 

included in this report, and are categorized as restrained. The restraint use 

of all remaining passengers was categorized as either unrestrained or 

unknown; passengers whose restraint use was unknown are not included in 

this report. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 7
• Seating Position – Passengers are limited to the following seating 

positions: front middle seat, front passenger seat, and second seat (left, 

middle, and right seat). These passenger seat positions were chosen to 

improve homogeneity between differing vehicles, such as vans and 

passenger cars; the sample size was only slightly reduced by not including 

the third and fourth rows. 

• Person Type – The report is limited to passengers within passenger 

vehicles in transport. Vehicle drivers, as well as pedestrians, bicyclists, 

and occupants of motor vehicles not in transport are excluded from this 

report. 

• Crash Type – This report examines all fatal crashes, and is not limited 

only to crashes where a child is fatally injured. 

Crashes were often stratified into single-vehicle (SV) crashes and multivehicle (MV) crashes. 

Chapter 8 looks exclusively at two-vehicle crashes, categorized by the 

vehicle body type of the “striking” vehicle and the “struck” vehicle. 

Vehicle body type for these two-vehicle crashes is separated into two 

categories: passenger cars (PC) and light trucks/vans (LTV). Therefore 

four crash types are examined: 

a. PC striking PC 

b. PC striking LTV 

c. LTV striking PC 

d. LTV striking LTV 

Rollover crashes are included in this report. 

• Years – This report examines passenger vehicle fatalities and injuries over 

the years 1998 through 2002. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 8
Statistical Qualifiers 

• While many chapters in this report examine fatal crashes through the use 

of the FARS database, Chapter 7 examines injury data gathered from nonfatal crashes that is stored in the GES database. The restraint use 

percentages differ between these two databases, as restraint use is 

determined by police and may be overreported for survivors. 

• As mentioned earlier in the Variables section in Chapter 3, no occupants 

in the driver’s seat position are included in this report. The focus of this 

report is on passengers 0 through 15 years old, and these passengers very 

rarely travel in the driver’s seat. In order to improve data compatibility 

between the age categories included in this report, drivers of all ages are 

not included in this report. 

• This report includes fatal motor vehicle crashes where no motor vehicle 

occupants were fatally injured. An example of this would be the case of a 

passenger vehicle striking a pedestrian, where the pedestrian was the only 

person fatally injured in the crash. The distribution of vehicles involved in 

these types of fatal crashes may not be consistent with the distribution of 

vehicles in crashes where a vehicle passenger was fatally injured. 

• Many crash characteristics that can be examined are not taken into account 

within this report. The calculations made within this report are not 

adjusted for all FARS and GES variables, examples of which include 

driver age, vehicle impact point, and weather at the time of the crash. This 

report is intended to be a summary of certain key factors surrounding a 

crash, and is not to be used as a complete examination of passenger 

vehicle crashes. 

• The fatality rates for restrained and unrestrained occupants should not be 

compared to calculate effectiveness estimates for restraint use. Certain 

factors involved in the crash were not accounted for, and thus this report 

cannot be used to estimate the effectiveness of restraint use. For similar 

reasons, this report should not be used to contradict previous analyses 

where double-pair comparison methodology was used to control for crash 

severity. 

• Air bags affect the fatality rates of front-seat passengers. This report does 

not adjust for the presence of air bags in Chapter 6. The comparison of the 

risks faced by front-seat and second-seat occupants in Chapter 6 is limited 

to seat position, age of passenger, and restraint use. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 9
4. Percent of Passengers Killed and Percent Survived, by Age of Passenger, 

Restraint Use, Vehicle Body Type, and Number of Vehicles in the Fatal Crash 

In this chapter, fatal crashes from 1998 through 2002 are examined to determine 

which passengers involved in the crash were fatally injured and which passengers 

survived. Passengers are separated into four age categories: 0-3, 4-7, 8-15, and 16 

and older. The age category of 16 and older is designed to put the data on child 

passengers under 16 into perspective, as the report is focused on child passengers. 

Vehicle drivers are not included in this report. 

Fatal crashes were stratified into single-vehicle (SV) crashes and multi-vehicle 

(MV) crashes. Four categories of vehicle body type were examined: passenger 

cars, SUVs, vans, and pickups. The vehicle body type category of LTV (light 

trucks and vans) referred to in this chapter aggregates three of the four vehicle 

body types: SUVs, vans, and pickups.

4.1 Child Passengers, Age 0-3 

This section examines child passengers 0-3 years old, who were involved in fatal 

crashes. Section 4.1.1 focuses on restrained passengers and Section 4.1.2 on 

unrestrained passengers. 

4.1.1 Restrained Passengers, Age 0 - 3 

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, 20 percent of restrained children in 

passenger cars were fatally injured. This percentage was smaller in sport 

utility vehicles (11%), vans (14%), and pickups (15%). These numbers 

present a clear pattern: the percentage of restrained child passengers who 

were fatally injured was higher in a passenger car than in an LTV. 

This difference between passenger car and LTV fatalities was much larger 

in multi-vehicle crashes than in single-vehicle crashes, as shown in Table 

1. In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, the percentage of restrained children in 

LTVs who were fatally injured ranged from 6 percent in pickups up to 10 

percent in vans, for children up through 3 years old. This was far less than 

the 20 percent seen among child occupants of passenger cars. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 10
Table 1. Restrained Child Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 0-3, by Survival Status,

Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type 

Body Type 

Survival

Status 

Single-Vehicle Crash Multiple Vehicle Crash 

Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Passenger Car 

Killed 216 20.1 674 20.4

Survived 857 79.9 2,632 79.6

Total 1,073 100.0 3,306 100.0

SUV 

Killed 54 11.0 62 6.9

Survived 439 89.0 842 93.1

Total 493 100.0 904 100.0

Van 

Killed 54 14.3 106 10.4

Survived 323 85.7 915 89.6

Total 377 100.0 1,021 100.0

Pickup 

Killed 27 15.3 37 6.3

Survived 149 84.7 554 93.7

Total 176 100.0 591 100.0

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002 

Figure 1: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Child Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, Age 0-3, by Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

4.1.2 Unrestrained Passengers, Age 0 – 3 

For many years NHTSA research has shown that unrestrained passengers 

involved in fatal crashes are more likely to be fatally injured than

passengers who are restrained. Table 2 focuses on unrestrained child

passengers and corresponds to the information shown in Table 1 regarding 

restrained child passengers. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 11
In single-vehicle fatal crashes, the percent of unrestrained children in a 

passenger car who were fatally injured was more than twice that of 

restrained children. A comparison of Tables 1 and 2 reflects this percent 

contrast among children age 0-3 (41% unrestrained versus 20% 

restrained). 

Among unrestrained children age 0-3, Table 2 shows that child passengers 

in single-vehicle fatal crashes were more likely to be fatally injured in a 

passenger car (41%) than in a SUV (32%), van (28%), or pickup (34%); as 

mentioned in Section 4.1.1, restrained children in single-vehicle fatal 

crashes were also more at risk in passenger cars than LTVs. However, the 

respective percentages of children killed in a passenger car versus an LTV 

differed less among unrestrained child passengers than among restrained 

child passengers. 

For a single-vehicle fatal crash, these data suggest that when a child is 

unrestrained, vehicle body type is less of a determinant of the child’s 

chance of survival than it is when a child is restrained. 

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, the percentage of children fatally injured 

varied much less across vehicle body type when the child was unrestrained 

than when the child was restrained. For example, among restrained 

children 0-3 years old in an MV fatal crash (see Table 1), the percent of 

children in passenger cars who were killed (20%) was nearly 3 times 

higher than the percent killed in SUVs (7%). However, Table 2 shows the 

percent of unrestrained children age 0-3 who were fatally injured in 

passenger cars (36%) and SUVs (37%) to be nearly equal. Being 

unrestrained thus removes much of the safety protection that a vehicle can 

provide a restrained child passenger. 

For passengers 0 to 3 years old, the percentage of unrestrained children in 

an LTV who were killed ranged from 27 percent to 37 percent among 

multi-vehicle fatal crashes (see Table 2). Comparatively, Table 1 shows 

that restrained children in LTVs were far less likely to be killed, with only 

6 percent to 10 percent of restrained child passengers being fatally injured. 

The protection that restraint use provides children in multi-vehicle crashes 

is yet another illustration of the increased safety of being properly 

restrained. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 12
Table 2. Unrestrained Child Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 0-3, by Survival 

Status, Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type 

Survival Single-Vehicle Crash Multi-Vehicle Crash 

Body Type Status Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Killed 181 41.3 278 35.7

Passenger Car Survived 257 58.7 500 64.3

Total 438 100.0 778 100.0

Killed 65 32.0 38 36.9

SUV Survived 138 68.0 65 63.1

Total 203 100.0 103 100.0

Killed 52 27.8 45 27.8

Van Survived 135 72.2 117 72.2

Total 187 100.0 162 100.0

Killed 60 34.1 47 26.6

Pickup Survived 116 65.9 130 73.4

Total 176 100.0 177 100.0

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

Figure 2: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Child Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, Age 0-3, by Vehicle Body Type and Crash Type 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002 

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 13
4.2 Child Passengers, Age 4 - 7 

This section examines child passengers, 4-7 years old, who were involved in a 

fatal crash. Section 4.2.1 focuses on restrained passengers and Section 4.2.2 on 

unrestrained passengers. 

4.2.1 Restrained Passengers, Age 4 - 7 

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, 14 percent of restrained children in 

passenger cars were fatally injured. Sport utility vehicles (13%), vans 

(10%), and pickups (13%) had a lower percentage of children killed. This 

difference between passenger cars and LTVs was smaller than the 

difference seen among children in the 0-through-3 age group. 

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, the percent of restrained children in LTVs 

who were fatally injured ranged from 7 percent in pickups and SUVs up to 

8 percent in vans, for children 4 through 7. This was far less than the 18 

percent seen among child occupants of passenger cars. As Table 3 

displays, the difference between passenger car and LTV fatalities was 

much larger in multi-vehicle crashes than in single-vehicle crashes. 

Among the 190 children 4 through 7 who were killed in single-vehicle 

crashes, 96 of these fatalities (51%) occurred in passenger cars. 

Comparatively, out of the total of 595 fatalities that occurred in multivehicle fatal crashes, 427 (72%) took place in passenger cars 

Table 3. Restrained Child Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 4-7, by Survival 

Status, Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type

Single-Vehicle Crash Multi-Vehicle Crash 

Body Type 

Survival

Status Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Killed 96 13.6 427 17.6

Passenger Car Survived 612 86.4 2,000 82.4

Total 708 100.0 2,427 100.0

Killed 42 12.5 52 6.6

SUV Survived 295 87.5 730 93.4

Total 337 100.0 782 100.0

Killed 29 9.5 76 8.0

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

Van Survived 275 90.5 869 92.0

Total 304 100.0 945 100.0

Killed 23 12.6 40 6.8

Pickup Survived 159 87.4 552 93.2

Total 182 100.0 592 100.0

 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 14
Figure 3: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Child Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, Age 4-7, by Vehicle Body Type and Crash Type 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

4.2.2 Unrestrained Passengers, Age 4 – 7 

 A comparison of Tables 3 and 4 shows that the percentage of unrestrained 

children in a passenger car who were fatally injured (32%) was more than 

twice that of restrained children (14%), in single-vehicle fatal crashes. 

This was also true among the 0 through 3 age range, showing that 

unrestrained passengers involved in a fatal crash are more likely to be 

fatally injured than passengers who are restrained. 

Among unrestrained children 4 through 7, Table 4 suggests that child 

passengers in single-vehicle fatal crashes were more likely to be fatally 

injured in a passenger car (32%) than in an SUV (27%), van (28%), or 

pickup (26%). As mentioned in Section 4.2.1, restrained children in 

single-vehicle crashes were also more at risk in passenger cars than LTVs. 

However, the respective percentages of children killed in a passenger car 

versus an LTV differed less among unrestrained child passengers than 

among restrained child passengers. This is more information that suggests 

that when a child is unrestrained, vehicle body type is less of a 

determinant of the child’s chance of survival than when a child is 

restrained. 

Among restrained children in a MV fatal crash (see Table 3), the percent 

of children in passenger cars who were killed (18%) was more than twice 

the percent killed in SUVs (7%), vans (8%), or pickups (7%). 

Comparatively, the percent of unrestrained children who were fatally 

injured (see Table 4) in passenger cars (32%) was less than twice the 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 15
percent seen among LTVs. This pattern among MV fatal crashes is 

similar to that seen among children 0 through 3 years old.

Table 4. Unrestrained Child Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 4-7, by Survival 

Status, Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type

Single-Vehicle Crash Multi-Vehicle Crash 

Body Type 

Survival

Status Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Killed 178 31.8 328 31.6

Passenger Car Survived 381 68.2 710 68.4

Total 559 100.0 1,038 100.0

Killed 93 26.9 54 27.7

SUV Survived 253 73.1 141 72.3

Total 346 100.0 195 100.0

Killed 79 27.8 70 20.1

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

Van Survived 205 72.2 278 79.9

Total 284 100.0 348 100.0

Killed 70 26.2 51 17.5

Pickup Survived 197 73.8 240 82.5

Total 267 100.0 291 100.0

 

Figure 4: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Child Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, Age 4-7, by Vehicle Body Type and Crash Type 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Passenger SUV Van Pickup

Car

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 16
4.3 Child Passengers, Age 8-15 

This section examines child passengers 8 through 15 years old who were involved 

in a fatal crash. Section 4.3.1 focuses on restrained passengers and Section 4.3.2 

on unrestrained passengers. 

4.3.1 Restrained Passengers, Age 8 - 15 

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, 18 percent of restrained children in 

passenger cars were fatally injured. This percentage was smaller in sport 

utility vehicles (14%), vans (10%), and pickups (15%). As was true 

among the two younger age ranges, the percent of restrained child 

passengers who were fatally injured was higher in a passenger car than in 

an LTV. 

In MV crashes, 18 percent of restrained children in passenger cars were 

fatally injured. The percent of restrained children in LTVs who were 

fatally injured ranged from 6 percent in SUVs and pickups up to 7 percent 

in vans, for children age 8 through 15 years old. This is a repeat of the 

general trend seen among younger age groups: the difference between the 

percent of children fatally injured in passenger cars versus LTVs was 

much larger in multi-vehicle crashes than in single-vehicle crashes, as 

shown in Table 5. 

Out of the 1,150 fatalities among children 8 through 15 years old that 

occurred in multi-vehicle fatal crashes, 294 (26%) took place in LTVs. 

Among the 593 children who were killed in single-vehicle crashes, 217 of 

these fatalities (37%) occurred in LTVs. As seen among other age groups, 

the percent of fatalities that occurred in LTVs was smaller among MV 

crashes than SV crashes. 

Table 5: Restrained Child Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 8-15, by Survival 

Status, Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type

Single-Vehicle Crash Multi-Vehicle Crash 

Body Type 

Survival

Status Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Killed 376 18.4 856 18.4

Passenger Car Survived 1,673 81.6 3,801 81.6

Total 2,049 100.0 4,657 100.0

Killed 107 13.8 82 5.5

SUV Survived 669 86.2 1,399 94.5

Total 776 100.0 1,481 100.0

Killed 56 9.5 136 7.3

Van Survived 531 90.5 1,727 92.7

Total 587 100.0 1,863 100.0

Killed 53 11.4 76 5.8

Pickup Survived 412 88.6 1,232 94.2

Total 465 100.0 1,308 100.0

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 17
Figure 5: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Child Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, Age 8-15, by Vehicle Body Type and Crash Type 

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002 

4.3.2 Unrestrained Passengers, Age 8 – 15 

In SV fatal crashes, the percent of unrestrained children in a passenger car 

who were fatally injured was more than twice that of restrained children. 

Data shown in Tables 5 and 6 reflect this percent contrast among children 

age 8 through 15 years old (37 percent unrestrained versus 18 percent 

restrained); also for SUVs (31 percent versus 14%), vans (22 percent 

versus 10%) and pickups (35 percent versus 11%), the percent of 

unrestrained children who were fatally injured was more than twice that of 

restrained children. This same relative risk of above 2.0 was seen among 

the two younger age categories in this report as well, clarifying once again 

the large amount of protection provided by restraint use. 

The percentage of unrestrained children who were killed ranged from 20 

to 23 percent in LTVs, among MV crashes (see Table 6). Comparatively, 

Table 5 shows that children in LTVs who were restrained were far less 

likely to be killed, with only 6 percent to 7 percent of restrained child 

passengers being fatally injured. The protection that restraint use provides 

children in MV crashes is another indication of the increased safety of 

being properly restrained. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 18
Table 6. Unrestrained Child Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 8-15, by 

Survival Status, Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type 

Single-Vehicle Crash Multi-Vehicle Crash 

Body Type 

Survival

Status Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Killed 999 36.9 850 30.2

Passenger Car Survived 1,707 63.1 1,961 69.8

Total 2,706 100.0 2,811 100.0

Killed 373 31.4 150 22.8

SUV Survived 816 68.6 509 77.2

Total 1,189 100.0 659 100.0

Killed 198 22.4 177 19.8

Van Survived 686 77.6 719 80.2

Total 884 100.0 896 100.0

Killed 425 35.1 203 20.7

Pickup Survived 786 64.9 778 79.3

Total 1,211 100.0 981 100.0

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

Figure 6: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Child Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, Age 8-15, by Vehicle Body Type and Crash Type 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 19
4.4 Vehicle Passengers 16 and Older 

This section examines vehicle passengers 16 years and older who were involved 

in a fatal crash. The drivers of these vehicles were not included in this report. 

Section 4.4.1 focuses on restrained passengers and Section 4.4.2 on unrestrained 

passengers. 

The data for passengers 16 and older are provided to help place the child occupant 

data in Sections 4.1 through 4.3 in perspective. Section 4.4 should not be evenly 

compared with the previous sections. The following example displays this data 

incompatibility: Among FARS cases included in this report that involved 

children age 0 through 3, 1,998 children were fatally injured (20%) and 8,177 

(80%) survived. For the cases in Section 4.4, 138,815 of these passengers 16 and 

older were fatally injured (42%) and 190,391 (58%) survived. The percentage of 

adults (42%) who were fatally injured was more than twice as large as the 

percentage of children up through 3 (20%) who were fatally injured. 

There are many factors in a fatal crash that lead to adult passengers being more 

likely to be fatally injured than child passengers. For example, passengers seated 

in the front seat are more likely to be fatally injured than passengers seated in the 

rear seat, and the percentage of adults traveling in the front seat is higher than the 

percentage of children who travel in the front seat In addition, the percentage of 

passengers who travel restrained is highest among infants and toddlers, and 

decreases as the age of the passenger increases. These factors are beyond the 

scope of this report and will not be included in this report. 

4.4.1 Restrained Passengers 16 and Older 

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, 37 percent of restrained passengers 16 and 

older in passenger cars were fatally injured. As with younger passengers, 

this percentage was smaller in sport utility vehicles (29%), vans (18%), 

and pickups (31%). 

This difference between passenger car and LTV fatalities was much larger 

in multi-vehicle crashes than in single-vehicle crashes, as shown in Table 

7. In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, the percent of restrained passengers in 

LTVs who were fatally injured ranged from 15 percent in SUVs and 

pickups up to 16 percent in vans, which was much lower than the 37 

percent seen among occupants of passenger cars. 

As was expected due to factors mentioned in the introduction to Section 

4.4, the percentage of passengers 16 and older who were fatally injured 

was much higher than what was seen among children. This was true 

among all age groups, vehicle body types, and both single-vehicle and 

multi-vehicle fatal crashes. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 20
Table 7. Restrained Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 16 and Older, by Survival 

Status, Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type 

Survival Single-Vehicle Crash Multi-Vehicle Crash 

Body Type Status Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Killed 11,705 36.9 28,768 36.5

Passenger Car Survived 20,031 63.1 49,974 63.5

Total 31,736 100.0 78,742 100.0

Killed 2,401 29.0 2,224 14.5

SUV Survived 5,867 71.0 13,095 85.5

Total 8,268 100.0 15,319 100.0

Killed 928 17.9 2,194 16.1

Van Survived 4,244 82.1 11,427 83.9

Total 5,172 100.0 13,621 100.0

Killed 2,716 30.6 3,764 14.9

Pickup Survived 6,156 69.4 21,545 85.1

Total 8,872 100.0 25,309 100.0

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

Figure 7: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Passengers in Fatal Crashes, 

Age 16 and Older, by Vehicle Body Type and Crash Type 

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 21
4.4.2 Unrestrained Passengers 16 and Older 

Table 8 focuses on unrestrained passengers 16 and older, and corresponds 

to the information shown in Table 7 regarding restrained passengers. In 

single-vehicle fatal crashes, the percent of unrestrained passengers in a 

passenger car who were fatally injured (67%) was 30 percentage points 

more than that of restrained passengers (37%). Among unrestrained 

passengers 16 and older, occupants in single-vehicle crashes were more 

likely to be fatally injured in a pickup (69%) than in a passenger car 

(67%), SUV (64%), or van (50%). 

For passengers 16 and older, the percentage of unrestrained passengers 

who were killed ranged from 38 percent in vans up to 59 percent in 

passenger cars, among multi-vehicle crashes (see Table 8). 

Comparatively, Table 7 shows that restrained passengers were far less 

likely to be killed in MV crashes, with only 28 percent overall being 

fatally injured. 

Table 8. Unrestrained Passengers in Fatal Crashes, Age 16 and Older, by Survival 

Status, Vehicle Body Type, and Crash Type 

Single-Vehicle Crash Multi-Vehicle Crash 

Body Type 

Survival

Status Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%) 

Killed 26,396 66.7 22,075 58.7

Passenger Car Survived 13,175 33.3 15,502 41.3

Total 39,571 100.0 37,577 100.0

Killed 7,157 64.1 2,552 44.8

SUV Survived 4,004 35.9 3,143 55.2

Total 11,161 100.0 5,695 100.0

Killed 2,885 49.5 2,322 38.0

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

Van Survived 2,939 50.5 3,782 62.0

Total 5,824 100.0 6,104 100.0

Killed 13,440 68.5 7,182 44.8

Pickup Survived 6,168 31.5 8,858 55.2

Total 19,608 100.0 16,040 100.0

 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 22
Figure 8: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, 16 and Older, by Vehicle Body Type and Crash Type 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Single Vehicle Crash

Multiple Vehicle Crash

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 23
5. Relative Risk of Unrestrained Passengers in a Fatal Crash Being Fatally 

Injured, Compared to Restrained Passengers 

In this chapter, fatal crashes from 1998 through 2002 are examined to determine 

which passengers involved in the crash are fatally injured and which passengers 

survived. Passengers are separated into four age categories: 0-3, 4-7, 8-15, and 16 

and older. 

A relative risk is defined as a ratio of two probabilities, P1 and P2. The 

probabilities used to calculate the relative risks below were discussed in Chapter 

4. For calculating the relative risks shown below, P1 refers to the percent of 

unrestrained children who were fatally injured in a fatal crash. P2 refers to the 

percent of restrained children who were fatally injured in a fatal crash. For each 

relative risk, P1 and P2 pertain to the same age group, vehicle body type, and crash 

type. 

For example, P1 for 4 though 7 year olds in an SV fatal crash in an SUV was 26.9 

percent, and P2 was 12.5 percent. P1 divided by P2 equals 2.15, which shows that 

for the specific type of crash described, an unrestrained child was 2.15 times more 

likely to be fatally injured than a restrained child. 

For the each of the relative risks shown below, a baseline relative risk of 1.0 is 

listed in the same row. This is a reminder that each relative risk (i.e. 2.15) was a 

comparison of the probability of an unrestrained child being fatally injured to the 

probability of a restrained child being fatally injured, after controlling for age of 

the child, vehicle body type, and crash type (SV versus MV). 

These relative risks for single-vehicle crashes are shown below in Table 9, and the 

relative risks for multi-vehicle crashes are shown in Table 10. 

Relative Risk of Being Fatally Injured While Unrestrained 

Data illustrating the benefits of restraint use are mentioned repeatedly throughout 

this report. These benefits are more consistent among the different vehicle body 

types for single-vehicle crashes than they are among multi-vehicle crashes. 

For nearly all vehicle body types, the percent of unrestrained children in singlevehicle fatal crashes who were killed was consistently between 2 and 3 times as 

high as the percent of restrained children who were killed (see Table 9). The 

lowest relative risk was 1.81, representing passengers 16 and older in passenger 

cars, and the highest relative risk was 3.08, seem among children 8 to 15 years old 

traveling in vans. Among these SV fatal crashes, 13 of the 16 relative risks were 

between 2 and 3. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 24
Table 9: Relative Risk of Unrestrained Passengers in a Single-Vehicle Fatal Crash 

Being Fatally Injured, By Vehicle Body Type and Age of Passenger 

Restrained Passengers as Baseline for Each Vehicle Body Type and Age Group

Body Type Age of Passenger Unrestrained Restrained

0 to 3 2.05 1.0

4 to 7 2.34 1.0

8 to 15 2.01 1.0 Passenger Car 

16+ 1.81 1.0

0 to 3 2.91 1.0

4 to 7 2.15 1.0

8 to 15 2.28 1.0

SUV 

16+ 2.21 1.0

0 to 3 1.94 1.0

4 to 7 2.93 1.0

8 to 15 2.36 1.0

Van 

16+ 2.77 1.0

0 to 3 2.23 1.0

4 to 7 2.08 1.0

8 to 15 3.08 1.0 Pickup 

16+ 2.24 1.0

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

Figure 9: Relative Risk of Unrestrained Passengers in a Single-Vehicle Fatal 

Crash Being Fatally Injured, By Vehicle Body Type and Age of Passenger 

 Restrained Passengers as Baseline for Each Vehicle Body Type and Age Group 

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002 

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

0-3 4-7 8-15 16+ 0-3 4-7 8-15 16+ 0-3 4-7 8-15 16+ 0-3 4-7 8-15 16+

Passenger Car SUV Van Pickup

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 25
In comparison to the above table and chart regarding single-vehicle crashes, the 

relative risks for multi-vehicle crashes differed more significantly by vehicle body 

type. Table 10 shows the relative risks for unrestrained passengers versus 

restrained passengers in multi-vehicle fatal crashes. For passenger cars, these 

relative risks fell in the narrow range of 1.61 (16 and older) to 1.80 (4-7-yearolds). This was far less than the relative risks among sport utility vehicles, vans, 

or pickups, which ranged from a low of 2.36 (16 and older in vans) up to a high of 

5.35 (0-3-year-olds in sport utility vehicles). SUVs had the highest relative risks 

for each of the four age categories. These relative risk calculations on multivehicle crashes suggest that being unrestrained may remove much of the 

protection that an LTV provides to a restrained child passenger. 

Table 10: Relative Risk of Unrestrained Passengers in a Multi-Vehicle Fatal 

Crash Being Fatally Injured, By Vehicle Body Type and Age of Passenger 

 Restrained Passengers as Baseline for Each Vehicle Body Type and Age Group

Body Type Age of Passenger Unrestrained Restrained

0 to 3 1.75 1.0

4 to 7 1.80 1.0 Passenger Car 

8 to 15 1.64 1.0

16+ 1.61 1.0

0 to 3 5.35 1.0

4 to 7 4.20 1.0 SUV 

8 to 15 4.15 1.0

16+ 3.09 1.0

0 to 3 2.67 1.0

4 to 7 2.51 1.0 Van 

8 to 15 2.71 1.0

16+ 2.36 1.0

0 to 3 4.22 1.0

4 to 7 2.57 1.0 Pickup 8 to 15 3.57 1.0

16+ 3.01 1.0

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 26
Figure 10: Relative Risk of Unrestrained Passengers in a Multi-Vehicle Fatal 

Crash Being Fatally Injured, By Vehicle Body Type and Age of Passenger 

 Restrained Passengers as Baseline for Each Vehicle Body Type and Age Group

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0-3 4-7 8-15 16+ 0-3 4-7 8-15 16+ 0-3 4-7 8-15 16+ 0-3 4-7 8-15 16+

Passenger Car SUV Van Pickup

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 27
6. Percent of Passengers Killed, by Seating Position, Age of Passenger, and 

Restraint Use, in Fatal Crashes 

The seating position mentioned in this chapter is separated into two categories: 

front passenger seat (middle and right front seat) and second seat (left, middle and 

right second seat). Passengers are separated into five age categories: less than 1, 

1-3, 4-7, 8-15, and 16 and older. Unlike chapters 4 and 5, this chapter aggregates 

single-vehicle and multi-vehicle crashes, and aggregates the four vehicle body 

types (passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and pickups) of which passenger vehicles are 

comprised. 

6.1 Restrained Passengers, by Seating Position 

 Among passengers in fatal crashes, a much higher percentage of occupants in the 

front passenger seat were fatally injured than occupants in the second seat. Figure 

11 shows these percentages for restrained passengers in five different age groups. 

Thirty-three percent of restrained infants in the front passenger seat were fatally 

injured, compared to 20 percent in the second seat. 

 Figure 11 displays a similar trend among children 1 through 3 years old (18 

percent of restrained front-seat passengers fatally injured versus 13 percent of 

restrained second-seat passengers), 4 through 7 (19% versus 11%), 8 through 15 

(16% versus 11%) and passengers 16 and older (27% versus 17%). In each age 

bracket, a larger percentage of restrained passengers in the front seat were fatally 

injured compared to restrained passengers traveling in the second seat. 

Figure 11: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, By Age and Seat Position 

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

<1 1 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 15 16+

Front Passenger Seat

Second Seat

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 28
6.2 Unrestrained Passengers, by Seating Position 

 Figure 12 shows the percentage of unrestrained passengers who were fatally 

injured, parallel to the information on restrained passengers displayed in Figure 

11. Two predictable patterns are quickly evident; first, a much larger percentage 

of passengers, in both seating positions, are fatally injured when they are 

unrestrained; and secondly, being unrestrained reduces some of the relative 

protection that is provided by the second seat compared to the front passenger 

seat. 

 A comparison of Figures 11 and 12 shows that restrained infants are 39 percent 

less likely to be killed in the second seat than in the front seat (20 percent versus 

33%), while unrestrained infants are only 13 percent less likely (54 percent versus 

62%). For passengers 16 and older, those restrained are 39 percent less likely to 

be killed when traveling in the second seat compared to the front seat (17 versus 

27%), while unrestrained passengers are only 29 percent less likely (35 versus 

49%). These two age groups display the pattern that the relative protection 

provided by traveling in the second seat (compared to the front passenger seat) is 

lessened when the passenger is unrestrained. 

Figure 12: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Passengers in Fatal 

Crashes, By Age and Seat Position

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

<1 1 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 15 16+

Front Passenger Seat

Second Seat

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 29
7. Percent of Passengers Injured, by Age of Passenger, Restraint Use, Vehicle 

Body Type, and Number of Vehicles in the Crash 

In this chapter, passenger injury data from 1998 through 2002 are analyzed from 

the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (GES) 

database to determine the percent of passengers injured in different types of 

crashes. These percentages are stratified according to passenger age, passenger 

restraint use, vehicle body type, and the number of vehicles in the crash. 

The GES cases examined in this chapter include a raw total of 169,490 

passengers. These cases are weighted to represent the 4.3 million passengers 

from 1998 through 2002 who were injured in traffic crashes, as well as the 15.6 

million passengers who were not injured. 

The tables and charts in this chapter focus on the means and standard errors of the 

percentage of passengers that were injured in various types of crashes. 

Passengers are separated into two age categories: 0 through 15, and 16 and older. 

Vehicle drivers are not included in this report. 

The passenger age groups of 0-3, 4-7, and 8-15 that have been used throughout 

this report were aggregated into the age group of 0 through 15 years old in order 

to create a larger sample size, and therefore a smaller standard error, for each of 

the many differing crash scenarios; this was because the standard errors that were 

measured using the age groups of 0-3, 4-7 and 8-15 were too large to produce 

results that were conclusive. 

The crashes examined in this chapter were stratified into single-vehicle (SV) 

crashes and multi-vehicle (MV) crashes. Section 7.1 focuses on single-vehicle 

(SV) crashes and Section 7.2 focuses on multi-vehicle (MV) crashes. Four 

categories of vehicle body type were examined: passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and 

pickups. 

The GES non-fatal injury data presented in this chapter was defined using the 

following four injury categories: (A) incapacitating injury, (B) non-incapacitating 

injury, (C) possible injury, and (O) no injury. These four categories have been 

stratified into two groups: “Injured,” made of categories A, B, and C, and 

“Uninjured,” made of category O. 

The standard errors presented in this chapter were calculated using SUDAAN, 

which is a single program consisting of a family of procedures used to analyze 

data from complex surveys and other observational and experimental studies 

involving cluster-correlated data. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 30
The Role of Restraint Use in Non-Fatal Crashes Compared to Fatal Crashes 

When examining the findings on non-fatal crashes presented in this chapter, it is 

helpful to consider the role of restraint use in fatal crashes compared to non-fatal 

crashes. The types of crashes that comprise the group of fatal crashes affect the 

relative risk of an unrestrained passenger being killed in a fatal crash, compared to 

a restrained passenger. Some of the fatal crashes are unsurvivable, even if the 

passengers are properly restrained, with certain high-delta-V crashes being an 

example of this type of crash. Therefore, in some severe fatal crashes, proper 

restraint use can sometimes fail to prevent a passenger from being killed. 

Comparatively, non-fatal crashes are often moderate enough that they are more 

likely to allow restraint use to greatly reduce the chance of a passenger being 

injured. Restraint use plays a large role in these less severe, non-fatal crashes, as 

it prevents many passengers from being injured. 

The above crash factors should be kept in mind when examining (1) the relative 

risk of an unrestrained passenger being killed in a fatal crash, compared to a 

restrained passenger, as shown in Chapter 5, and (2) comparing the percentage of 

unrestrained passengers who were injured with the percentage of restrained 

passengers who were injured, as is presented in this chapter. 

7.1 Passengers in Single-Vehicle Crashes 

This section examines passengers who were involved in single-vehicle non-fatal 

crashes. Section 7.1.1 focuses on passengers age 0 through 15 and Section 7.1.2 

on passengers 16 and older. 

7.1.1 Passengers in Single-Vehicle Crashes, Age 0 - 15 

For passengers 0 through 15 years old in single-vehicle crashes, the 

percent of restrained passengers who were injured was significantly less 

than the percent of unrestrained passengers who were injured. This result 

is seen for all four vehicle body types shown in Figure 13. 

Among restrained passengers, the percent who were injured ranged from 

17 percent in vans, up to 20 percent in pickups and passenger cars; 

comparatively for unrestrained passengers, 43 percent of children in vans 

were injured compared to 52 percent in passenger cars. 

For all four vehicle body types, children 0 through 15 were from 2.4 to 2.6 

times as likely to be injured when they were unrestrained versus when 

they were restrained. These injury findings are another example of the 

safety benefits that are provided by restraint use. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 31
Table 11: Percent and Standard Error of Passengers Injured, Age 0 - 15, 

By Vehicle Body Type and Restraint Use, in Single-Vehicle Crashes

Restrained Unrestrained 

Body Type Mean (%) SE (%) Mean (%) SE (%)

Passenger Car 19.5 1.4 51.6 2.9

SUV 19.2 2.1 46.8 4.5

Van 16.6 3.7 42.7 7.8

Pickup 19.7 2.9 50.3 3.8

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, GES 1998-2002 

 Note: These estimates do not include fatally injured passengers.

Figure 13: Percent of Passengers Injured, Age 0 – 15, by Vehicle Body Type 

And Restraint Use, in Single-Vehicle Crashes 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, GES 1998-2002 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Percent Injured

Restrained

Unrestrained

 Note: Intervals surrounding percent estimates are +/- one standard error. These 

 estimates do not include fatally injured passengers. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 32
7.1.2 Passengers 16 and Older in Single-Vehicle Crashes 

For passengers 16 and older in single-vehicle crashes, restrained 

passengers were much less likely to be injured than were unrestrained 

passengers. This result, shown below in Figure 14, is similar to the 

findings on younger passengers shown in Figure 13. 

For both restrained and unrestrained passengers 16 and older, the 

passengers traveling in vans were the least likely to be injured. This same 

result was seen in Section 7.1.1 for the younger age group. Figure 14 

shows that passengers 16 and older in SUVs, among both restrained and 

unrestrained passengers, were the most likely to be injured. The percent 

of passengers 16 and older who were injured ranged from 19 percent of 

those restrained in vans up to 65 percent of those unrestrained in SUVs. 

For all four vehicle body types, passengers 16 and older were 2.3 to 2.6 

times as likely to be injured when they were unrestrained versus when 

they were restrained; these relative risks are nearly equal to those seen 

among passengers under 16 in single-vehicle crashes. 

Table 12: Percent and Standard Error of Passengers Injured, 16 and Older, 

By Vehicle Body Type and Restraint Use, in Single-Vehicle Crashes

Restrained Unrestrained 

Body Type Mean (%) SE (%) Mean (%) SE (%)

Passenger Car 24.5 1.9 55.0 2.3

SUV 26.1 1.9 65.2 2.2

Van 18.8 3.1 43.0 5.5

Pickup 22.3 1.8 58.2 3.2

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, GES 1998-2002

Note: These estimates do not include fatally injured passengers.

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 33
Figure 14: Percent of Passengers Injured, 16 and Older, by Vehicle Body 

Type and Restraint Use, in Single-Vehicle Crashes 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Percent Injured

Restrained

Unrestrained

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, GES 1998-2002

Note: Intervals surrounding percent estimates are +/- one standard error. These estimates 

do not include fatally injured passengers. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 34
7.2 Passengers in Multi-Vehicle Crashes 

This section examines passengers who were involved in multi-vehicle non-fatal 

crashes. Section 7.2.1 focuses on passengers age 0 through 15 and Section 7.2.2 

on passengers 16 and older. 

Sections 7.1 and 7.2 show that a smaller percentage of unrestrained passengers 

were injured in multi-vehicle (MV) crashes compared to single-vehicle (SV) 

crashes. In many types of SV crashes, more than half of the unrestrained 

passengers were injured, with a high of 65 percent among adult passengers in 

SUVs; comparatively, the percent of unrestrained passengers in MV crashes who 

were injured never topped 40 percent. 

This comparison suggests that an unrestrained passenger is at a higher risk of 

being injured when involved in an SV crash versus being involved in a MV crash. 

This risk difference is due to many factors. For example, compared with MV 

crashes, vehicles in SV crashes are more likely to experience a rollover or strike a 

fixed object (i.e. a tree), events that are very likely to injure a passenger in the 

vehicle. Restrained passengers are also more likely to be injured in an SV crash 

than in a MV crash, but the difference in risk is much smaller among restrained 

passengers than among unrestrained passengers. 

7.2.1 Passengers Age 0 – 15 in Multi-Vehicle Crashes 

In multi-vehicle crashes, 11 to 13 percent of restrained 0 though 15-yearold passengers in LTVs were injured, compared to 17 percent in passenger 

cars (see Figure 15). For all four vehicle body types, younger passengers 

in MV crashes were the least likely to be injured of all restrained 

passengers examined in this chapter, including restrained passengers in 

single-vehicle crashes (Sections 7.1.1 and 7.1.2), and restrained older 

passengers in MV crashes (Section 7.2.2). 

This is another sign of two factors that are related to a reduced likelihood 

of injury. First, passengers in multi-vehicle crashes are less likely to be 

injured compared to passengers in single-vehicle crashes. Second, the 

younger passengers who are more likely to travel in the safer second seat 

are less frequently injured compared to those older passengers who are 

more frequently traveling in the front seat. 

As with restrained children, unrestrained children traveling in passenger 

cars had a higher probability of being injured (37%) than children in SUVs 

(32%), vans (29%), and pickups (33%). In multi-vehicle crashes, the 

relative risk of being injured ranged from 2.2 in passenger cars up to 3.0 in 

SUVs, for unrestrained children compared to restrained children. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 35
Table 13: Percent and Standard Error of Passengers Injured, Age 0 - 15, 

By Vehicle Body Type and Restraint Use, in Multi-Vehicle Crashes 

Restrained Unrestrained 

Body Type Mean (%) SE (%) Mean (%) SE (%)

Passenger Car 16.6 1.1 36.9 2.0

SUV 10.6 1.0 31.8 5.0

Van 12.6 1.0 28.6 3.5

Pickup 12.2 0.9 33.1 2.7

 1998-2002

 Note: These estimates do not include fatally injured passengers.

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, GES

 

 

ates are +/- one standard error. These estimates 

do not include fatally injured passengers. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Percent Injured

Restrained

Unrestrained

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, GES 1998-2002 

Note: Intervals surrounding percent estim

7.2.2 Passengers 16 and Older in Multi-Vehicle Crashes 

For passengers 16 and older in multi-vehicle crashes, the percent of 

restrained passengers who were injured was significantly less than the 

percent of unrestrained passengers who were injured, for all four vehicle 

body types. This pattern was consistent throughout Chapter 7, showing a 

clear example of the increased safety provided by restraint use. 

As shown in Figure 16, for both restrained and unrestrained passengers, 

those traveling in passenger cars were the most likely to be injured. 

Figure 15: Percent of Passengers Injured, Age 0 – 15, by Vehicle Body Type 

And Restraint Use, in Multi-Vehicle Crashes 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 36
Among restrained passengers, the percent who were injured ranged from 

17 percent in pickups up to 23 percent in passenger cars; comparatively 

for unrestrained passengers, the percent injured was lowest among 

passengers in vans (31%) and highest in passenger cars (40%). 

The relative risk of injury for unrestrained passengers versus restrained 

passengers was smallest among passengers 16 and older in MV crashes 

(Section 7.2.2), compared to SV crashes (Section 7.1) or younger 

passengers in MV crashes (Section 7.2.1). For passengers 16 and older in 

MV crashes, the relative risk ranged from1.6 for vans up to 2.1 for SUVs. 

Restrained Unrestrained 

Body Type Mean (%) SE (%) Mean (%) SE (%)

Passenger Car 23.3 1.5 39.9 2.1

SUV 17.2 1.6 35.7 3.0

Van 19.0 1.5 31.2 2.5

Pickup 16.5 1.2 31.7 2.5

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, GES 1998-2002 

 Note: These estimates do not include fatally injured passengers.

Table 14: Percent and Standard Error of Passengers Injured, 16 and Older, 

By Vehicle Body Type and Restraint Use, in Multi-Vehicle Crashes 

 

- one standard error. These 

 estimates do not include fatally injured passengers.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Passenger

Car

SUV Van Pickup

Percent Injured

Restrained

Unrestrained

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis NHTSA, GES 1998-2002 , 

 Note: Intervals surrounding percent estimates are +/

 

 

Figure 16: Percent of Passengers Injured, 16 and Older, 

By Vehicle Body Type and Restraint Use, in Multi-Vehicle Crashes 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 37
8. Percent of Passengers Fatally Injured, in Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes 

Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs 

The two-vehicle crashes included in Chapter 8 are categorized by the vehicle 

body type of the “striking” vehicle and the “struck” vehicle. Vehicle body type 

for these two-vehicle crashes is separated into two categories: passenger cars (PC) 

and light trucks and vans (LTV). (LTV is a vehicle group that consists of SUVs, 

vans, and pickups.) Therefore four crash types are examined: 

i. PC striking PC 

ii. PC striking LTV 

iii. LTV striking PC 

iv. LTV striking LTV 

Two-vehicle fatal crashes from 1998 through 2002 are examined. The charts in 

Chapter 8 show the percent of passengers in the striking vehicle who were fatally 

injured and the percent of passengers in the struck vehicle who were fatally 

injured, for each of the four crash types mentioned above. These percentages are 

also shown for the aggregate of four above-mentioned crash types. Throughout 

Chapter 8, passengers are separated into four age categories (0-3, 4-7, 8-15, and 

16 and older) and two restraint use categories (restrained and unrestrained). 

Patterns Seen Among Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes 

Two main patterns were observed within the two-vehicle crash data presented in 

Chapter 8. These two patterns are seen among both restrained and unrestrained 

passengers, and through all age categories. 

• After aggregating all two-vehicle fatal crashes included in this chapter, a 

much larger percentage of passengers in the struck vehicle were fatally 

injured (50%) compared to passengers in the striking vehicle (22%). 

• When a PC and an LTV collided in a fatal crash, the passengers in the 

LTV were less likely to be fatally injured than those traveling in the PC. 

This finding applies to crashes where an LTV struck a PC, and also to 

crashes where a PC struck an LTV. 

From 1998 through 2002, over 25,000 passengers were fatally injured in twovehicle crashes involving a PC and/or an LTV. Among these fatalities, 6,609 

passengers were killed in the striking vehicle, while 18,457 were killed in the 

struck vehicle. 

In crashes where a PC struck another PC, 21 percent of the passengers in the 

striking vehicle were killed, while 52 percent of the passengers in the struck 

vehicle were killed (see Figure 17). For crashes where an LTV struck another 

LTV, 27 percent of the passengers in the striking vehicle were killed, while 45 

percent of the passengers in the struck vehicle were killed. These two types of 

crashes show that a passenger in the struck vehicle had a smaller chance of 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 38
surviving a fatal crash than a passenger in the striking vehicle, when the vehicles 

were of similar body types. 

A different pattern is observed when a two-vehicle fatal crash involved a PC and 

an LTV. Figure 17 shows that when an LTV struck a PC, 60 percent of the 

passengers in the struck PC were fatally injured, compared to only 9 percent of 

the passengers in the striking LTV; however, among crashes where a PC struck an 

LTV, 29 percent of those in the struck LTV were killed, while 45 percent of those 

in the striking PC were killed. 

Figure 17: Percent Killed, Among Passengers in Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes 

Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle Role 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

The crash type where a PC strikes an LTV is the only two-vehicle crash type 

where the passenger was more likely to be fatally injured in the striking vehicle 

than in the struck vehicle. Potential reasons for this difference include the fact 

that LTVs frequently possess a larger mass and higher center of gravity than PCs. 

Restrained Passengers Compared to Unrestrained Passengers 

While Figure 17 presents findings on all passengers in two-vehicle crashes, 

parallel information on restrained passengers and unrestrained passengers is 

shown below in Figures 18 and 19, respectively. 

For restrained passengers in two-vehicle fatal crashes, Figure 18 shows that 46 

percent of those in the struck vehicle were fatally injured, compared to 14 percent 

in the striking vehicle. Among unrestrained passengers, Figure 19 shows these 

percentages to be much higher, with 37 percent of those in the struck vehicle 

fatally injured, compared to 58 percent in the striking vehicle. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 39
These numbers show that whether the passenger is unrestrained or restrained, the 

chance of being killed in a fatal crash is much higher among passengers in the 

struck vehicle than passengers in the striking vehicle; however this difference is 

smaller among unrestrained passengers (21 percentage points difference: 58% 

versus 37%) than among restrained passengers (32 percentage points difference: 

46% versus 14%).

Figure 18: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Passengers in Two-Vehicle 

Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle Role 

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

Figure 19: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Passengers in Two-Vehicle 

Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle Role 

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 40
8.1 Passengers in Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes, Age 0 - 3 

This section examines child passengers up through 3 years old who were involved 

in two-vehicle fatal crashes. Section 8.1.1 focuses on restrained passengers and 

Section 8.1.2 on unrestrained passengers. 

8.1.1 Restrained Passengers, Age 0 - 3 

Among restrained children up through 3 years old in two-vehicle fatal 

crashes, 12 percent of the passengers in the striking vehicle were killed, 

while 28 percent of the passengers in the struck vehicle were killed. 

Figure 20 shows that when an LTV struck a PC, 35 percent of the 

passengers in the struck PC were fatally injured, compared to only 2 

percent of the passengers in the striking LTV; however, among crashes 

where a PC struck an LTV, 13 percent of those in the struck LTV were 

killed, while 33 percent of those in the striking PC were killed. Among 

these two types of fatal crashes that involved a PC and LTV, restrained 

children were less likely to be fatally injured in an LTV versus a PC. 

Figure 20: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Passengers Age 0-3, in TwoVehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle 

Role

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 41
8.1.2 Unrestrained Passengers, Age 0 - 3 

While Figure 20 displays data on restrained passengers, Figure 21 (shown 

below) displays parallel information on unrestrained passengers. A

comparison of these two charts shows that when the child passengers were 

unrestrained in a two-vehicle fatal crash, they were much more likely to be 

fatally injured than when they were restrained. For unrestrained children 

up through 3, 40 percent of the child passengers in the striking vehicle 

were killed, while 46 percent of the passengers in the struck vehicle were 

killed. 

These fatality percentages were larger than those provided in Section 

8.1.1, which represent the percent of restrained children who were fatally 

injured in the striking vehicle (12%) and struck vehicle (28%). The 

smaller percent of restrained young passengers who were killed, as shown 

in Figure 20, is an example of the large safety benefit of being properly 

restrained. 

When the child was unrestrained, vehicle body type played less of a role in 

determining a child’s chance of surviving a two-vehicle crash, than when 

the child was restrained. This relationship parallels what has been shown 

throughout this report, which is that being unrestrained removes much of 

the safety protection that vehicles of certain body types can provide a 

restrained child passenger. 

Other than among crashes where a PC struck an LTV, there was only one 

age and restraint use combination in all of Chapter 8 where the percent of 

passengers fatally injured was higher among striking vehicles (56%) than 

among struck vehicles (37%). This was seen in crashes where an LTV 

struck an LTV, as shown in Figure 21. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 42
Figure 21: Percent Killed Among Unrestrained Passengers Age 0-3, in TwoVehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle Role 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

8.2 Passengers in Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes, Age 4 - 7 

This section examines child passengers age 4 through 7, who were involved in a 

two-vehicle fatal crash. Section 8.2.1 focuses on restrained passengers and 

Section 8.2.2 on unrestrained passengers. 

8.2.1 Restrained Passengers, Age 4 - 7 

Among restrained children 4 through 7 years old in two-vehicle fatal 

crashes, 7 percent of the passengers in the striking vehicle were killed, 

while 24 percent of the passengers in the struck vehicle were killed. 

Percentages similar to these were seen among crashes where a PC struck a 

PC, and where an LTV struck an LTV, as shown in Figure 22. 

In crashes where an LTV struck a PC, the percent of restrained children in 

the LTV who were killed (3%) was less than one-tenth as high as the 

percent of restrained children in the PC who were killed (33%); yet even 

when a PC struck an LTV, the percentage of restrained children in the PC 

who were killed (19%) was more than twice as high as the percent of 

restrained children in the LTV who were killed (9%). 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 43
Figure 22: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Passengers Age 4-7, in TwoVehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle 

Role 

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

8.2.2 Unrestrained Passengers, Age 4 - 7 

For unrestrained children age 4 through 7, 24 percent of the child 

passengers in the striking vehicle were killed, while 33 percent of the 

passengers in the struck vehicle were killed. Figure 23 shows that when 

the child passengers were unrestrained in a two-vehicle fatal crash, they 

were much more likely to be fatally injured than when they were 

restrained. 

This difference in the percentage of unrestrained children fatally injured in 

the striking vehicle (24%) versus the struck vehicle (33%) was only half as 

large the difference seen among restrained children (7% versus 24%). 

This is another example that suggests that when the child is unrestrained, 

distinguishing factors in the type of crash play less of a role in whether a 

child survives the crash. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 44
Figure 23: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Passengers Age 4-7, in Two-Vehicle 

Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle Role

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

8.3 Passengers in Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes, Age 8-15 

This section examines child passengers age 8 through 15 who were involved in 

two-vehicle fatal crashes. Section 8.3.1 focuses on restrained passengers and 

Section 8.3.2 on unrestrained passengers. 

8.3.1 Restrained Passengers, Age 8 - 15 

Figure 24 shows that when an LTV struck a PC, 32 percent of the 

passengers in the struck PC were fatally injured, compared to only 1 

percent of the passengers in the striking LTV; however, in crashes where a 

PC struck an LTV, only 6 percent of those in the struck LTV were killed, 

while 16 percent of those in the striking PC were killed. Among these two 

types of fatal crashes that involved a PC and LTV, restrained children are 

less likely to be fatally injured in an LTV versus a PC. 

In crashes where a PC struck a PC, the children in the struck PC were 7 

times as likely to be fatally injured as the children in the striking PC; in 

LTV-LTV crashes the children in the struck vehicle were just over 2 times 

as likely to be fatally injured in the struck LTV compared to the striking 

LTV. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 45
Among all restrained children 8 through 15 in two-vehicle fatal crashes, 5 

percent of the passengers in the striking vehicle were killed, while 23 

percent of the passengers in the struck vehicle were killed. 

Figure 24: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Passengers Age 8-15, in TwoVehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle Role 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

8.3.2 Unrestrained Passengers, Age 8-15 

When a PC struck an LTV, 30 percent of the unrestrained child passengers 

in the PC were fatally injured, as were 24 percent of the unrestrained 

passengers in the LTV. In the each of the other three crash categories in 

Figure 25 (PC strikes PC, LTV strikes PC, and LTV strikes LTV), 

unrestrained children in the striking vehicle were less likely to be killed 

(ranging from 12 to 18%) than were unrestrained children in the struck 

vehicle (ranging from 30 to 43%). 

Among all unrestrained children 8 through 15 years old in two-vehicle 

fatal crashes, 18 percent of the passengers in the striking vehicle were 

killed, while 33 percent of the passengers in the struck vehicle were killed. 

These percentages were much higher than the comparable percentages 

seen among restrained children age 8 through 15 (5 and 23%). 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 46
Figure 25: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Passengers Age 8-15, in 

Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by 

Vehicle Role 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

8.4 Passengers in Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes, 16 and Older 

This section examines passengers 16 and older who were involved in a twovehicle fatal crash. Section 8.4.1 focuses on restrained passengers and Section 

8.4.2 on unrestrained passengers. 

8.4.1 Restrained Passengers, 16 and Older 

In fatal crashes where an LTV struck a PC, only 225 restrained passengers 

in the LTV were killed and 5,992 survived, while 5,342 passengers were 

killed in the PC, with 3,377 surviving. These numbers show that a far 

higher percentage of adult occupants in the struck PC were fatally injured 

(61%) compared to the striking LTV (4%). 

When a PC struck an LTV, restrained passengers in the PC were more 

than twice as likely to be fatally injured (40%) compared to restrained 

passengers in the LTV (19%). As these percentages show in Figure 26, 

passengers in an LTV are more likely to survive a fatal crash with a PC, 

regardless of which vehicle is the striking vehicle. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 47
Figure 26: Percent Killed, Among Restrained Passengers Age 16 and Older, in 

Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle 

Role 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002

8.4.2 Unrestrained Passengers, 16 and Older 

Figure 27 suggests that when occupants 16 and older were unrestrained in 

two-vehicle fatal crashes, they were more likely to be fatally injured than 

if they were restrained. Among unrestrained occupants, 39 percent of the 

occupants in the striking vehicle were killed, while 61 percent of the 

occupants in the struck vehicle were killed. 

These fatality percentages were larger than those shown in Section 8.4.1 

that represent the percent of restrained occupants who were fatally injured 

in the striking vehicle (15%) and struck vehicle (49%). 

Among unrestrained adult passengers, vehicle type played less of a role in 

determining a passenger’s chance of surviving a two-vehicle crash, 

compared to when a passenger was restrained. For example, in crashes 

where an LTV struck a PC, 4 percent of restrained passengers in the LTV 

were killed and 61 percent of restrained passengers in the PC were killed. 

These percentages differed less among unrestrained passengers, with 23 

percent of those in the striking LTV being killed, compared to 67 percent 

in the struck PC. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 48
Figure 27: Percent Killed, Among Unrestrained Passengers 16 and Older, in 

Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Passenger Cars and/or LTVs, by Vehicle 

Role 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Total PC HITS

PC 

PC HITS

LTV 

LTV HITS

PC 

LTV HITS

LTV

Percent fatally injured

Striking Vehicle

Struck Vehicle

 Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS 1998-2002 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 49
9. Conclusions 

The findings of this report support a variety of conclusions about the safety of 

passengers traveling in passenger vehicles. Vehicle drivers are not included in the 

analysis. 

This report shows the benefit of using different data sources to examine similar 

variables. The report does not consider all variables within the motor vehicle 

crash databases. Further studies need to be undertaken by examining other 

variables within the FARS, GES, and other databases that may provide additional 

information. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to 

conduct these analyses and report the findings. 

Analysis of Fatal Crashes (9.1 – 9.6)

Children Are More Likely to Be Fatally Injured When They Are 

Unrestrained Than When They Are Restrained 

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, the relative risk of an unrestrained child in a 

passenger car being fatally injured was between 2.0 and 2.3, compared to 

restrained children. In LTVs, this relative risk ranged from 1.9 for 0-3 year olds 

in vans, up to 3.1 for 8-15 year olds in pickups. 

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, unrestrained children in LTVs were 2.5 to 5.4 times 

as likely to be fatally injured as children who were restrained. The relative risk 

was highest among children in SUVs and lowest for children in vans. 

Comparatively, the relative risk was smaller for children in passenger cars than 

for children in LTVs. For a child in a passenger car in a multi-vehicle crash, 

being unrestrained made the child between 1.6 and 1.8 times as likely to be fatally 

injured, compared to a restrained child. 

In Fatal Crashes, the Percent of Restrained Child Passengers Who 

Are Fatally Injured Is Higher in a Passenger Car Than in an LTV 

In single-vehicle fatal crashes, 20 percent of restrained children age 0-3 in 

passenger cars were fatally injured. A smaller percentage of children in SUVs 

(11%), vans (14%), and pickups (15%) were fatally injured. This pattern among 

single-vehicle fatal crashes was also seen among the older age groups. Restrained 

children overall were 1.5 times as likely to be fatally injured in a passenger car 

compared to an LTV. 

In multi-vehicle fatal crashes, restrained children in passenger cars were roughly 

2.5 times as likely to be fatally injured as restrained children in LTVs, a relative 

risk higher than what was seen among single-vehicle fatal crashes. These 

statistics raise the issue of vehicle compatibility. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 50
When a Child Is Unrestrained, Vehicle Body Type Is Less of a 

Determinant of a Child’s Chance of Survival, Than When a Child Is 

Restrained 

Although unrestrained children in passenger cars were more likely to be fatally 

injured than unrestrained children in LTVs, this difference is less than the 

difference seen among restrained children (as discussed in Conclusion 9.2). The 

percentage of unrestrained children who were killed was more homogeneous, 

among different vehicle body types, than the percentage of restrained children 

killed. Being unrestrained thus removes much of the safety protection that a 

vehicle can provide a restrained child passenger. 

Children Are Safer When Traveling in the Second Seat 

Whether children are restrained or unrestrained, they are safer when traveling in 

the second seat. In fatal crashes, restrained children in the front passenger seat 

were roughly 1.5 times as likely to be fatally injured compared to restrained 

children in the second seat. The relative protection provided by traveling in the 

second seat (compared to the front passenger seat) is lessened when the passenger 

is unrestrained. 

Among Most Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes, the Passengers in the Struck 

Vehicle Are More Likely to Be Killed Than Those in the Striking Vehicle 

From 1998 through 2002, over 25,000 passengers of all ages were killed in twovehicle crashes involving passenger cars and/or LTVs. Among these fatalities, 

nearly 3 times as many occurred in the struck vehicle (18,457 passengers) 

compared to the striking vehicle (6,609 passengers). 

Whether the passenger is unrestrained or restrained, the chance of being killed in 

a fatal crash is higher among passengers in the struck vehicle than passengers in 

the striking vehicle; however, this difference is smaller among unrestrained 

passengers than among restrained passengers. 

In Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes Between a Passenger Car and an LTV, the 

Vehicle Body Type Plays a Role in the Passenger’s Chance of Survival 

When limiting the scope of two-vehicle fatal crashes to those between a passenger 

car and an LTV, a strong pattern emerged. In these crashes, passengers in the 

LTV were far more likely to survive the fatal crash than passengers in the 

passenger car, whether the LTV struck the passenger car or the passenger car 

struck the LTV. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 51
Analysis of Non-Fatal Crashes (9.7 – 9.8)

Unrestrained Passengers Are Much More Likely to Be Injured Than 

Restrained Passengers 

An examination of non-fatal crashes showed that unrestrained passengers were 

more likely to be injured than were restrained passengers. This difference was 

statistically significant regardless of the age of the passenger, the body type of the 

vehicle in which the passenger was traveling, and/or the number of vehicles in the 

crash. 

Unrestrained Passengers Are at a Higher Risk of Being Injured When in a 

Single-Vehicle Crash Versus in a Multi-Vehicle Crash 

The probability of unrestrained passengers being injured was consistently larger 

among single-vehicle crashes than among multi-vehicle crashes. In many types of 

single-vehicle crashes, a majority of unrestrained passengers were injured. 

Among unrestrained passengers in single-vehicle crashes, those age 16 and older 

traveling in SUVs were the most likely to be injured (64%), while those up 

through 15 years old were the least likely to be injured (43%). In multi-vehicle 

crashes, by comparison, the percent of unrestrained passengers who were injured 

never topped 40 percent. 

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 52