In the current issue of American Journal of Diseases of Children (129:946-949, 1975) an article entitled, "Are 1974-1975 Automotive Belt Systems Hazardous to Children?" squarely faces the problem of trauma to children as a result of using restraint systems in automobiles. It decries the apparently widely accepted, but unsupported, belief that children should not wear safety belts, and asks pediatricians to report both injuries and cases in which restraints have been effective in preventing or reducing the severity of injuries. Since pediatricians often do not hear about children who were uninjured in a motor vehicle crash, it is hoped that other physicians who may hear about such incidents from adult patients would also report. (Physicians may write directly to Richard G. Snyder, PhD, Highway Safety Research Institute, Huron Parkway and Baxter Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, or to me at the AMA.)
The need for data in regard to child