REPORT FINDS CHILD TRANSPORT DEATHS PREVENTABLE

BURNABY – Transport tragedies remain the most frequent preventable child deaths in B.C., according to the findings of an annual report released today by the Child Death Review Unit (CDRU) of the BC Coroners Service.

Male youth driving with their peers at unsafe speeds are risk factors that are seen repeatedly. As well, impaired driving, inexperience, and failure to use a restraint continue to be leading risk factors for all young drivers.

“It was also alarming to see the number of transport-related deaths where young drivers had infractions or were prohibited drivers,” said Kellie Kilpatrick, director of the CDRU. “Many had received tickets for speeding, in some cases excessive speeding. That's one of the reasons why we're encouraging parents to make sure they are aware of their youth’s driving behaviour."

The report looks at common risk factors among 395 deaths involving children and youth ages one day to 18-years-old that occurred between 1999 and 2007, and issues recommendations that aim to prevent future child deaths. The review determined 126 deaths were preventable and of those deaths, the cause most often cited as responsible for the loss of life were 58 transport related incidents. Notably, five of the report’s 12 recommendations relate directly to those specific deaths and were developed collaboratively with the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles and ICBC.

These recommendations are:

The offence of failure to wear a seatbelt be assigned demerit point penalties to align with the majority of the other provinces in Canada.
Legislation and/or regulations be changed to ensure that upon a review or intent to prohibit a young person’s license in the Graduated Licensing Program, that the young person’s parent also receive notification of that prohibition (or intent to prohibit) by registered or certified mail.
The OSMV review the current policy relating to excessive speed and other high-risk driving infractions to consider longer prohibitions and that a combination of these infractions would result in a review of that license by the OSMV.
A review of the legislation take place to ensure that young persons who receive infractions within the Graduated Licensing Program are unable to move to the next stage of the GLP or full license until that infraction has been adjudicated.
The “Drive” program piloted by ICBC be implemented throughout the province of British Columbia to help educate and inform young drivers about the risks inherent as a young driver.

Other key findings from the 395 deaths reviewed for the report include:

· In cases of sudden infant death, less than half of the infants were placed to sleep on their backs and the majority were sleeping on an unsafe sleep surface such as an adult mattress or couch.

· Half of the children who died by suicide had made a previous attempt and had expressed thoughts of suicide to a peer, family member or health professional.

· The highest number of fatal assaults involved female preschoolers and male youth. Preschoolers were most often killed by an adult caregiver within their own home; common risk factors included complex family challenges, social isolation and communication breakdown between service providers.

· Alcohol and substance use continues to be a risk factor in all categories of sudden and unexpected deaths involving youths.

The CDRU Annual Report 2007 is available online at:

www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/coroners/child-death-review/docs/CDRU-2007annualreport.pdf

The Child Death Review Unit of the BC Coroners Service is committed to a comprehensive review of all child deaths to better understand how and why children die, and to use those findings to take action to prevent other deaths and improve the health, safety and well being of all children in British Columbia.

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Contact:

Terry Foster

Public Affairs Officer
Office of the Chief Coroner

604 660-7752




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