And as for the notion that we shoudl be wearing helmets in cars:
http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/atsb160.pdf
Prevention of head injuries to car occupants: an investigation of interior padding options
Federal Office of Road Safety - Report CR 160
Authors: A. J. McLean, B.N. Fildes, C.N. Kloeden, K.H. Digges, R.W.G. Anderson, V.M. Moore & D. A. Simpson
Performing organisations: NHMRC Road Accident Research Unit, University of Adelaide and Monash University Accident Research Centre
Full report in .pdf format [355KB]
Abstract
Head injuries to car occupants resulting from crashes on Australian roads are a major cause of death and permanent brain damage. This report evaluates the benefits that would be likely to accrue from the use of padding materials to reduce the severity of impacts to the head. A review of the international literature was conducted to examine the range of possible countermeasures, with particular reference to padding the upper interior of the passenger compartment. Three sets of data analyses were then carried out: first, a summary of objects typically struck by the head in a representative sample of crashes; secondly, an examination of actual brain injuries sustained in a sample of crashes, and an assessment of likely outcomes had the objects struck by the head been padded; and finally, a HARM analysis to estimate the cost of head injuries and the likely financial benefits from various countermeasures. Results indicate that there is considerable potential for reducing the severity and consequences of impacts to the head by padding the upper interior of the passenger compartment. The total annual benefit of this measure, in terms of reduced HARM, would be about $123 million, or $154 per car (with a 5% discount rate). However, an even greater level of protection would be provided by the use of protective headwear. The total benefits associated with headwear in the form of a soft shell bicycle helmet were estimated to be $380 million (assuming a fully airbag equipped fleet), or $476 per car ($626 for cars without airbags).
...
The next section of the report presents the results of a detailed analysis of factors related to the occurrence of brain injury in three samples of crash involved car occupants studied by the NHMRC Road Accident Research Unit. On a case by case basis, selected characteristics of the injury to the brain are related to characteristics of the impact to the head and the object struck to identify those cases in which the provision of some means of energy absorption might reasonably be expected either to prevent or significantly reduce the severity of the injury to the brain in a similar crash. The results of this investigation indicate that there is considerable potential for reducing the severity and the consequences of impacts to the head by padding the upper interior of the passenger compartment. However, an even greater level of protection would be provided by the use of protective headwear.
Protective headwear, similar to a soft shell pedal cycle helmet, is estimated to be much more effective than padding the car in preventing cases of fatal brain injury and in improving the outcome in cases of severe brain injury. With each of these forms of protection the benefit appears likely to be greatest for cases which would otherwise sustain a brain injury of moderate severity (improved outcome in 40 and 25 per cent of cases respectively).
Here are a couple of statistics from 1990 to 2000:
(taken from
http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2000/SR0002.pdf )
• More than 90,000 children, infants to teenagers, were killed in motor
vehicle crashes, and over 9 million were injured.
• Six out of 10 children who died were not buckled up.
I believe that getting parents to simply buckle their kids up (and to do it properly) is the most simple and effective solution, but I also think there is something to the helmet idea to supplement continued seatbelt education.
Ok, now for the bottom line...
Let's assume for the sake of this discussion that an organization like the NHTSA does a formal research project and the results show that for children aged from 3 to 14, there are 6,000 annual fatalities with a head injury, and 60,000 more children in the same age range suffer a serious head injury ever year. Next let's assume that their study showed that the type of helmet we are talking about here could reduce the number of fatalities and serious head injuries by 25% (in the ballpark of the Australian study).
That would result in the potential for 1,500 saved lives, and 15,000 fewer injuries each year. Of course this potential savings is not realistic since many parents would not put helmets on their kids (despite the good evidence), but even if just 10% of the parents did, then that 'early adopter' group would still be saving 150 childrens' lives and 1,500 serious head injuries every year... or 3 lives and 30 head injuires every week.