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

1

U.S. Department 

Of Transportation 

National Highway 

Traffic Safety 

Administration

 DOT HS 809 696 

 Research Note December 2003

 Restraint Use of Large Truck Child Passengers Involved in Fatal Crashes 

Cejun Liu*

Introduction 

Due to the traditional commercial usage of large 

trucks, child passengers are usually transported 

in passenger vehicles. However, because a 

certain number of children travel in large trucks, 

their travel safety and restraint use are of 

concern. In this research note, the restraint use 

patterns of large truck child passengers aged 0-

15 years involved in fatal crashes are examined. 

Methodology 

A child passenger is categorized as being 

restrained (child safety seat, shoulder and lap 

belt or restraint type unknown), unrestrained, or 

of unknown restraint use. Child passengers in 

large trucks aged 0 to 3, 4 to 7 and 8 to 15 years 

old are classified as a “fatality” or “survivor ” of 

the crash. Unknown injury severity cases are not 

included. Data from the Fatality Analysis 

Reporting System (FARS) for the period 1988-

2002 were used. The FARS database is a 

national census of police-reported motor vehicle 

crashes resulting in fatal injuries. It is conducted 

by the National Center for Statistics and 

Analysis (NCSA) in the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

Results 

Tables 1 and 2 show large truck child 

passengers aged 0-15 that were killed or 

survived in fatal crashes by year, age group and 

restraint use from 1988 through 2002. The data 

concerning the fatally injured children show that 

77 percent of children aged 0-3 years, 78 percent 

of children aged 4-7 years and 70 percent of 

children aged 8-15 years were not restrained 

(unrestrained children killed in passenger 

vehicles is 53 percent, 58 percent and 66 percent 

for these three age groups). In comparison, a 

higher percentage of children who survived in 

fatal crashes were restrained. This feature is also 

graphically illustrated by Chart 1. 

Table 3 is a contingency table of restraint use by 

survival status for large truck child passengers, 

not including children where the restraint use is 

unknown. The number in the parenthesis is the 

row proportion (the same applies to Table 4). 

 

 Table 3: Contingency Table for Large Truck Child 

 Passengers Age 0-15 in Fatal Crashes 

 Survival Status 

Restraint Use Killed Survived 

 Used 17(0.047) 343(0.953)

 Not Used 125(0.174) 593(0.826)

Source: NCSA FARS 1988-2002 

χ

2 test shows a strong association between 

restraint use and survival status in fatal crashes 

(χ

2

=35.75, df=1, p<0.0001). The relative risk 3.7 

(=0.174/0.047) [95% confidence limit (C.L.) is 

(2.26, 6.02)] indicates that a large truck child 

passenger killed in a fatal crash is roughly 4 

times more likely to have been unrestrained than 

a child passenger who survived a fatal crash. 

As a comparison, we also examine the restraint 

use of child passengers in passenger vehicles in 

two-vehicle fatal crashes involving a large truck 

and a passenger vehicle. See Table 4 for details. 

Table 4: Contingency Table for Passenger Vehicle Child 

Passengers Age 0-15 in Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes 

Involving a Large Truck and a Passenger Vehicle 

 Survival Status 

Restraint Use Killed Survived 

 Used 1042(0.34) 2039(0.66)

 Not Used 1397(0.40) 2134(0.60)

Source: NCSA FARS 1988-2002 
 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 

2

 Table 1 

 Large Truck Passengers Age 0-15 Killed by Year, Age Group 

 and Restraint Use in Fatal Crashes 

 Restraint Use

Year 

 Age 

 Group Not Used % Used % Unknown % Sub-Total 

 

Total 

1988 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 2 

 3 

 9 

100 

100 

 82

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

 9 

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

 9 

 2 

 3 

 11 

 

 16 

 

1989 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 1 

 3 

 5 

100 

100 

 56

 0 

 0 

 2 

 0 

 0 

22 

 0 

 0 

 2 

 0 

 0 

 22 

 1 

 3 

 9 

 

 13 

 

1990 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 4 

 0 

 6 

100 

 0 

 75

 0 

 0 

 2 

 0 

 0 

25 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 4 

 0 

 8 

 

 12 

 

1991 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 0 

 3 

 5 

 0 

 75 

 72

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

14 

 0 

 1 

 1 

 0 

 25 

 14 

 0 

 4 

 7 

 

 11 

 

1992 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 2 

 2 

 1 

100 

100 

100

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 2 

 2 

 1 

 

 5 

 

1993 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 3 

 3 

 3 

100 

100 

 75

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

25 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 3 

 3 

 4 

 10 

1994 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 3 

 1 

 8 

 75 

 50 

 80

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

10 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 25 

 50 

 10 

 4 

 2 

 10 

 16 

1995 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 0 

 2 

 2 

 0 

 67 

 67

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 1 

 1 

 1 

100 

 33 

 33

 1 

 3 

 3 

 7 

1996 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 1 

 3 

 1 

100 

 75 

100

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

 25 

 0 

 1 

 4 

 1 

 6 

1997 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 1 

 4 

 5 

 50 

100 

 72

 1 

 0 

 1 

50 

 0 

14 

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

 14 

 2 

 4 

 7 

 13 

1998 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 1 

 0 

 8 

100 

 0 

 80 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 2 

 2 

 0 

100 

 20

 1 

 2 

 10 

 13 

1999 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 2 

 1 

 3 

 50 

 50 

 75 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 0 

 2 

 1 

 1 

 50 

 50 

 25 

 4 

 2 

 4 

 10 

2000 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 2 

 1 

 4 

 67 

 50 

 80 

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

20 

 1 

 1 

 0 

 33 

 50 

 0 

 3 

 2 

 5 

 10 

2001 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 3 

 2 

 7 

100 

 67 

 70

 0 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

10 

 0 

 1 

 2 

 0 

 33 

 20 

 3 

 3 

 10 

 16 

2002 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 2 

 3 

 0 

 50 

100 

 0

 2 

 0 

 3 

50 

 0 

50 

 0 

 0 

 3 

 0 

 0 

 50 

 4 

 3 

 6 

 13 

Total 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 27 

 31 

 67 

 77 

 78 

 70

 3 

 0 

 14 

 9 

 0 

14 

 5 

 9 

 15 

 14 

 22 

 16 

 35 

 40 

 96 

 171 

Source: NCSA FARS 1988-2002
 National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 

3

 Table 2 

 Large Truck Passengers Age 0-15 Survived by Year, Age Group 

 and Restraint Use in Fatal Crashes 

 Restraint Use

Year 

 Age 

 Group Not Used % Used % Unknown % Sub-Total 

 

Total 

1988 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 7 

 17 

 28 

 64 

 85 

 68

 3 

 3 

 10 

27 

15 

25 

 1 

 0 

 3 

 9 

 0 

 7 

 11 

 20 

 41 

 

 72 

 

1989 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 6 

 6 

 18 

 55 

 60 

 62

 4 

 2 

 6 

36 

20 

21 

 1 

 2 

 5 

 9 

 20 

 17

 11 

 10 

 29 

 

 50 

 

1990 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 6 

 12 

 63 

 86 

80 

 80

 1 

 2 

 14 

14 

13 

18 

 0 

 1 

 2 

 0 

 7 

 2 

 7 

 15 

 79 

 

 101 

 

1991 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 8 

 8 

 26 

 73 

 73 

 81

 3 

 2 

 6 

27 

18 

19 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

 9 

 0 

 11 

 11 

 32 

 

 54 

 

1992 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 6 

 6 

 24 

 86 

 60 

 54

 1 

 4 

 17 

14 

40 

39 

 0 

 0 

 3 

 0 

 0 

 7 

 7 

 10 

 44 

 

 61 

 

1993 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 4 

 9 

 26 

 50 

 75 

 67

 4 

 3 

 11 

50 

25 

28 

 0 

 0 

 2 

 0 

 0 

 5 

 8 

 12 

 39 

 59 

1994 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 4 

 11 

 19 

 57 

 69 

 61

 3 

 4 

 12 

43 

25 

39 

 0 

 1 

 0 

 0 

 6 

 0 

 7 

 16 

 31 

 54 

1995 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 5 

 6 

 18 

 56 

 46 

 43

 4 

 7 

 22 

44 

54 

52 

 0 

 0 

 2 

 0 

 0 

 5 

 9 

 13 

 42 

 64 

1996 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 5 

 9 

 18 

 45 

 69 

 55

 5 

 3 

 10 

45 

23 

30 

 1 

 1 

 5 

 10 

 8 

 15

 11 

 13 

 33 

 57 

1997 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 4 

 12 

 20 

 44 

 55 

 49

 4 

 9 

 18 

44 

41 

44 

 1 

 1 

 3 

 12 

 5 

 7

 9 

 22 

 41 

 72 

1998 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 4 

 10 

 22 

 57 

 59 

 48

 1 

 6 

 18 

14 

35 

39 

 2 

 1 

 6 

 29 

 6 

 13

 7 

 17 

 46 

 70 

1999 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 5 

 8 

 24 

 62 

 73 

 48

 3 

 3 

 22 

38 

27 

44 

 0 

 0 

 4 

 0 

 0 

 8 

 8 

 11 

 50 

 69 

2000 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 5 

 9 

 23 

 56 

 90 

 51

 3 

 1 

 21 

33 

10 

47 

 1 

 0 

 1 

 11 

 0 

 2

 9 

 10 

 45 

 64 

2001 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 11 

 11 

 24 

 61 

 58 

 52

 6 

 8 

 20 

33 

42 

43 

 1 

 0 

 2 

 6 

 0 

 4 

 18 

 19 

 46 

 83 

2002 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 3 

 8 

 15 

 38 

 50 

 38

 4 

 7 

 23 

50 

44 

57 

 1 

 1 

 2 

12 

 6 

 5 

 8 

 16 

 40 

 64 

Total 

 0 - 3 

 4 - 7 

 8 - 15 

 83 

 142 

 368 

 59 

 66 

 58

 49 

 64 

 230 

35 

30 

36 

 9 

 9 

 40 

 6 

 4 

 6 

 141 

 215 

 638 

 994 

Source: NCSA FARS 1988-2002

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

4

χ

2 test shows an association between restraint 

use and survival status for passenger vehicle 

child passengers (χ

2

=23.3, df=1, p<0.0001). The 

relative risk 1.18 (=0.40/0.34) [95% C.L. is 

(1.10, 1.25)] indicates that a passenger vehicle 

child passenger killed in a two-vehicle fatal 

crash involving a large truck is roughly 1.2 times 

more likely to have been unrestrained than a 

child passenger who survived the fatal crash. 

Thus, child passenger fatalities in large trucks 

are 3 times more likely to be unrestrained than 

those in passenger vehicles in two-vehicle fatal 

crashes involving a large truck. 

 

 

Chart 1: Large Truck Passengers Age 0-15 Killed & 

Survived by Restraint Use in Fatal Crashes 

(Source: NCSA FARS 1988-2002) 

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Killed (Age 0-3)

Survived (Age 0-3)

Killed (Age 4-7)

Survived (Age 4-7)

Killed (Age 8-15)

Survived (Age 8-15)

Percent

Not Used Used Unknown

 

*Cejun Liu is a Program Analyst employed by Rainbow Technology Inc., a contractor working for the 

Mathematical Analysis Division, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA. Very useful 

suggestions and comments from Chou-Lin Chen, Dennis Utter, Joseph Tessmer at NCSA and Richard 

Gruberg at FMCSA, and technical assistance from Tom Bragan, Paul Lobo, Ellin Ramsey and Rajesh 

Subramanian at NCSA are acknowledged.

For additional copies of this research note, please call 1-800-934-8517 or fax your request to (202) 366-3189. For 

questions regarding the data reported in this research, contact Cejun Liu [202-366-5354]. Internet users may access 

this research note and other general information on highway safety at: http://wwwnrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html

 

U.S. Department 

of Transportation

National Highway 

Traffic Safety 

Administration 

400 Seventh Street, S.W., NPO-120 

Washington, D.C. 20590