Nearly three years after the tragic death of a five-year-old toddler in a crash in Outaouais, the coroner believes the safety of rear passengers is being neglected and is calling on Transport Canada to take action.
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“You don’t have to be familiar with the subject to realize that we give less importance to those who sit in the back,” says Francine Danais confidently. “The front passengers are well padded, almost encased in protection and airbags. In the back we sit on a straight bench seat, which is not comfortable, and we slouch in the passenger compartment. »
I Francine Danais, coroner in the Outaouais region. Courtesy of Francine Danais
The trained lawyer has just published her report on the death of little Riley Armstrong, who tragically died on December 14, 2021. A silly distraction — not the cell phone — caused his father to momentarily get out of the way while traveling on Route 309 in Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, a small town north of Gatineau. The family’s vehicle collided violently head-on with that of another oncoming man. The latter also died.
The “forgotten children”
During her trial, coroner Danais was “stunned” to discover that the rear passengers of vehicles not only had very little protection, but were also the “forgotten children” of road safety.
In the crash, little Riley suffered a fractured skull after his head hit the headrest of the front seat. Her older sister also suffered a head injury but survived. Given that the two children were placed in compliant booster seats, Coroner Danais sought to understand why they had suffered such severe head injuries.
” To my surprise, [une experte de Transport Canada] informed me that there are virtually no studies on the safety of rear passengers (children or adults) and that cars are not subject to compliance testing in this regard,” she wrote in her report.
No studying
There is research on child seats, but there is no research on their movement in the cabin in a crash and the overall safety of rear passengers, Danais noted in preparing his report. In addition, statistics from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) confirm that rear passenger deaths have practically doubled in recent years (see table).
Therefore, the coroner recommends that Transport Canada conduct in-depth studies on the kinetics of rear passengers and children in collisions. She also suggests checking the headrests and making sure they are safe for those sitting in the back.
In a vague response, Transport Canada confirmed that it had read Ms. Danais’ report, but without confirming that it would implement her recommendations. The government agency also confirms that it is conducting tests at a special center in Blainville to assess the safety of rear passengers, although without providing any results.
Rear passengers dead for 5 years:
2022: 20
2021: 15
2020: 7
2019: 10
2018: 11
Rear passengers seriously injured for 5 years:
2022: 68
2021: 53
2020: 43
2019: 75
2018: 70
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