Study: Kids Safer in Cars When Grandma or Grandpa is Driving

A new study shows kids may be safest in cars when grandma or grandpa are driving - instead of mom or dad, and these results even made the researchers do a double-take.

All available evidence tells us older drivers have more car crashes than younger drivers. With that in mind, the recent study looked only at injuries - instead of crashes - and to everybody's surprise, it found that a child's risks for being injured in a crash are 50 percent lower if a grandparent is driving.

Turning that around, this means a child is twice as likely to be injured in a crash if a parent is driving, than he or she would be if in a crash when a grandparent is driving.

The study's author, Dr. Fred Henretig of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is 64 years old, and he says he got the idea for this study when his first grandchild was born three years ago.

He says when he found himself feeling nervous when driving his granddaughter around, he wondered if other seniors had the same experience, and if they had, why?

Researchers can't explain these findings, but they have a theory.  They think grandparents are naturally more nervous about driving with the 'precious cargo' of their grandchildren, so they drive more carefully to compensate for any age-related problems they may have.

via If grandma's driving, the kids may actually be safer | Cars and trucks | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle.

Grandparents did flub one safety measure.  The study found that grandparents are slightly less likely to follow recommended practices, which include installing rear-facing backseat car seats for infants and no front-seats.

Oh well. Nobody's perfect.