The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have completed a study on unintentional child injury and its prevention. According to the report, the top five causes of child injury and injury-related death are:
1. Road crashes: They kill 260,000 children a year and injure about 10 million. They are the leading cause of death among 10-19 year olds and a leading cause of child disability.
2. Drowning: It kills more than 175,000 children a year. Every year, up to 3 million children survive a drowning incident. Due to brain damage in some survivors, non-fatal drowning has the highest average lifetime health and economic impact of any injury type.
3. Burns: Fire-related burns kill nearly 96,000 children a year and the death rate is 11 times higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
4. Falls: Nearly 47,000 children fall to their deaths every year, but hundreds of thousands more sustain less serious injuries.
5. Poisoning: More than 45,000 children die each year from unintended poisoning.
Globally, road traffic injuries are the number one cause of child injury and injury-related death among young people aged 15 to 19 years and the second leading cause among 5- to 14-year-olds. In 2004, road traffic injuries accounted for approximately 30% of all injury deaths among children,
For younger child occupants, the lack, or improper use of, a child restraint is the main risk factor. While many parents use child restraints for infants, the use decreases significantly after the child has outgrown the infant device.
Young drivers are at high risk of a crash in their first year of driving by themselves due to both their immaturity and lack of driving experience. A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examines the benefit of delaying teen licensure and the effect of implementing graduated licensing systems, providing insight into how the United States compares to other nations.
Worldwide, 17 or 18 is the typical age a teen gets their drivers license. In the U.S., most states allow teens to drive alone at age 16 or 16 1/2, some as early as 14 1/2 or 15, and the only state to withhold driving licensure until 17 is New Jersey. There have been a few states that have proposed changing the age of licensure to 17 or 18, but so far the proposed changes have not been successful.
If you are parent of a soon-to-be driver, and your state allows licensure without a graduated licensing system, consider imposing some restrictions yourself for the safety of your teen and for your peace of mind.
—Michelle Tsai
Last July, with gas prices soaring, we covered a study that showed how mpg numbers for fuel economy often mislead consumers and cause them to make poor decisions. (See our original posting, “Not all mpgs are created equal.”) 
