Preventing motor vehicle-occupant and pedestrian injuries in children and adolescents.

Injuries to young motor vehicle occupants and pedestrians continue to be a leading cause of childhood and adolescent mortality and morbidity. Recent articles relevant to childhood traffic injuries are reviewed here. Topics include infant passengers traveling on lap, effectiveness of seat belts for 4 to 14 year olds, passengers riding in the back of pickup trucks, and characteristics of young drivers. Socioecologic and geographic factors in pedestrian injuries are also discussed, along with parents' expectations of their children's street-crossing skills, the efficacy of a school-based pedestrian training program, and children's abilities to estimate safe intervals between traffic when crossing streets.