Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Sep;7(3):242-4.
doi: 10.1136/ip.7.3.242.

Underreporting of traffic injuries involving children in Japan

S Nakahara  1 , S Wakai
Affiliations

Underreporting of traffic injuries involving children in Japan

S Nakahara et al. Inj Prev. 2001 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Significant underreporting of road traffic injuries by the police has been documented, even in developed countries. The objective of this study was to clarify the magnitude of underreporting of police data in Japan.

Methods: Police reports were compared with those of the fire department and the Marine and Fire Insurance Association of Japan.

Results: The results reveal significant underreporting by police of child vehicle occupant injuries. The true incidence of these injuries in preschoolers was twice as high as that provided by official police reports.

Conclusion: Police reports would underestimate the magnitude of vehicle occupant injuries in children and distort any evaluations of preventive initiatives. Improving the police report system, and establishing a more comprehensive trauma registry, that would include data from hospitals and insurance companies should be implemented.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Accid Anal Prev. 2000 Nov;32(6):771-7 - PubMed
    1. Accid Anal Prev. 1990 Aug;22(4):361-70 - PubMed
    1. Int J Epidemiol. 1998 Oct;27(5):866-70 - PubMed
    1. J Trauma. 1991 Aug;31(8):1110-5 - PubMed
    1. BMJ. 1992 Feb 15;304(6824):422 - PubMed