Award-winning study a boost for road safety
As an emergency physician, Dr. Jeff Brubacher has seen a lot. But it’s the carnage caused by motor vehicle collisions that stays with him.
“Driving is something many of us do every day and it remains one of the more dangerous things we do every day. Too many people are needlessly injured or killed on our roads.”
A career in the Emergency Department has fuelled Dr. Brubacher’s passion for research on road safety — and his work is earning him and his research colleagues accolades.
The Canadian Paediatric Society has named Dr. Brubacher and co-authors Dr. Herbert Chan, Dr. Ediriweera Desapriya and Shannon Erdelyi recipients of the 2017 Noni MacDonald Award for a recent study published in Paediatrics & Child Health.
Study results a good reminder
The award-winning study focuses on the impact of B.C.’s 2008 mandatory booster seat laws for children under nine years of age — and the results were conclusive.
In motor vehicle collisions from 2000 to 2012, injuries among child passengers up to three years of age in a car safety seat decreased 13 per cent. During the same time frame, injuries among children aged four to nine years in a booster seat decreased 11 per cent.
“Seatbelts are designed for adults and their use by children can result in serious injuries and even permanent disability,” says Dr. Brubacher. “Our study is a good reminder for any parent and doctor that seatbelts aren’t the answer for young children — no matter how much they fuss about their booster seat.”
On the award, Dr. Brubacher extends his special thanks to Dr. Desapriya, who initially proposed the study, and Dr. Chan and Shannon Erdelyi for the study’s design and analysis.
“It is my hope that our findings will raise awareness about the importance of using the right passenger safety restraint at every age to reduce injuries.”
Learn more
- Paediatrics & Child Health: The impact of child safety restraint legislation on child injuries in police-reported motor vehicle collisions in British Columbia: An interrupted time series analysis
- VGH Emergency Medicine Research Newsletter (2017)
- VCH News: Quality research in the ED? Yes, really.