Quality of data on injured child car passengers in road traffic accidents

In the present study injuries to children as car passengers reported by the police to the National Bureau of Statistics were compared with corresponding injuries reported to an insurance company. Both coverage errors and errors in reported data were investigated. Injuries reported to the insurance company were coded according to Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and the Injury Severity Score (ISS) was calculated. It was found that police reports on such injuries contain a number of errors but that the data can be used under some conditions.