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New Infographic: An Urgent Need for Pediatric Post-Crash Care

You may have already seen the infographic the Office of EMS (OEMS) released in 2023 detailing the national problem of death and disability from motor-vehicle crashes, as well as the opportunities for EMS, 911 and our colleagues in highway safety to do more. Not only has this post-crash care (PCC) infographic recently been updated with the latest statistics, but the OEMS just released a pediatric-specific version.

“There’s a clear and urgent opportunity to save more lives on our roadways—those of both adults and children,” says Gam Wijetunge, Director of NHTSA’s OEMS. “Our hope is that these infographics will offer a simple, quick way to communicate the problem of death and serious injury on our streets and highways, as well as specific countermeasures EMS and highway safety professionals can use as they work together to reduce these numbers.”

The numbers for children are indeed sobering: EMS responded to more than 109,000 motor-vehicle crashes involving a child in 2022. About 10,000 of those collisions involved a serious injury, and more than 1,100 children lost their lives in a crash. But just as with adults, a significant percentage—55% for children and 42% for adults—were still alive when responders arrived, but later died. “Effective, timely post-crash care saves lives,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman, speaking at the Post-Crash Care Summit in August 2024. “Innovations in care could narrow that gap, potentially saving thousands of lives per year.”

The updated national PCC infographic highlights 2022 figures (the most current) from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), namely the updated statistics of 42,514 crash victims who died in 2022 and 42% who were alive when first responders arrived but later died.

To learn more about post-crash care and how you can help and to download both infographics, visit ems.gov. You can also watch the Post-Crash Care Summit on YouTube.