“Children onboard” proclaims the bumper sticker of the car you just had a crash with. Clearly, the driver believed it was other drivers that were the danger to themself and their children. Yet it may well be them, not you, who caused the wreck.
Having children in the car makes a person a less safe driver. While many drivers do take more care when carrying kids, a 2023 report found that “The estimated risk of causing a single-vehicle crash was 6.2 times higher among the full sample of adults, 7.2 times higher among female drivers, and 5.0 times higher among drivers 25–44 years old” when they had children onboard. While the report is specifically focused on fatalities, the underlying idea is clear: Children are a surprising driving hazard.
Children are another distraction for many drivers
People often forget how complex the activity of driving is. Driving safely requires the utmost focus, and that can be incredibly difficult to achieve with children on board.
However hard a driver tries to ignore them, some kids are pretty much un-ignorable. Maybe it’s a strapped-in baby upping the noise level until mom finally looks over at them. Or perhaps it’s a bored teen, determined to convince their parents it’s simpler just to let them stay at home next time, than drag them to see distant relatives again. Even the perfectly behaved children can be a significant distraction, drawing you in as they recount their day or while they ask questions about things they spot along the roadside.
It only takes one small moment of distraction to cause a crash that could potentially have lifelong consequences for several people. It’s important to remember this if you find yourself being wrongly blamed for a crash with a driver who had children on board.
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