Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Latino children

In recent letters and press releases, AAA has called specific attention to the disproportionately high death rate of Latino children in motor vehicle crashes. Latino children die in crashes at rates up to 60 percent higher than non-Latino white children.

Medical studies assessing children's health risks often overlook motor vehicle-related injuries even though they are the leading cause of death for children. It is a neglected issue for all ethnicities and all ages. AAA hopes to encourage everyone to join the efforts to reduce the loss of more than 42,000 people every year on our nation's highways.

In 2003, motor vehicle crashes killed 2,136 children age 14 and under - about six kids every day. About 253,000 more children - almost 700 every day - were injured.

AAA believes state and local efforts to increase seat belt use among Latino parents will produce higher seat belt and child seat usage for parents and children.

AAA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other groups are working to overcome cultural and linguistic barriers by offering educational literature in Spanish. In addition, NHTSA maintains a database of child safety seat inspection locations around the country that can be easily accessed in English or Spanish by calling (toll-free) 1-866-SEAT-CHECK (1-866-732-8243) or by logging onto www.seatcheck.org.

See recent AAA press releases on this subject, including a recent letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association - JAMA.

For more information on this topic, contact your local AAA club.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety's "Children in Traffic" video provides insight into why children behave unexpectedly and is a must-see for all drivers. Order it online! Also available in Spanish!