According to a new study, children who ride with their grandparents are half as likely to be injured in an accident as those who ride with their parents. The news comes from research organized by Dr. Fred Henretig, an emergency medicine specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Henretig and his team poured through the State Farm data from insurance claims between 2003 and 2007 across 15 states. The research included information on over 12,000 children below the age of 15, and the study interviewed drivers involved in the accidents.
While older drivers are typically more prone to get into an automobile accident and may not always follow proper installation instructions on child booster seats, younger passengers are still less likely to be injured in an accident with their grandparents. The researchers aren’t entirely sure why this is, though Henretig says that it may have something to do with the fact that grandparents are more careful drivers with their grandchildren in the vehicle.
grandparents also tend to drive larger cars like the Town Car or larger Buick, as opposed to mom and dad driving a Focus or Civic