A child's life can easily be saved when Kent motorists choose not to speed to work or look down at their cell phones when driving. According to studies, car accidents are the number one cause of accidental trauma in American children. The second leading cause of injury in U.S. children is drowning. However, many of these serious accidents can also be prevented when property owners, parents and caregivers take certain safety precautions, researchers say.

Although the number of childhood deaths from drowning accidents has significantly declined during the past 20 years, a new study from Johns Hopkins University reports, researchers believe that more deaths and injuries still need to be prevented each year. The study reported that about 1,000 children die each year in the U.S. from drowning and about 5,000 suffer injuries from nearly drowning.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, indicates that safety messages to reduce drowning accidents have become more effective in the U.S., most likely as a result of injury-prevention efforts that target messages toward parents and caretakers of young children.

Study data show that the number of hospital visits attributed to near-drowning was cut by more than one half between 1993 and 2008. During that same period, the number of deaths that occurred at hospitals after a patient was admitted for drowning dropped by more than 40 percent.

The study also revealed that children are more likely to die from drowning if they are four years old or younger. These types of deaths are usually caused by accidentally falling into a pool or an accident in the bathtub such as being left alone in the tub without adult supervision.

This data comes in the wake of a new federal law in 2007 requiring pool and hot tub manufacturers to include better safety devices in their products. Researchers believe that this call to action, along with the dissemination of public health messages, has contributed to the drop in drowning cases. Others suggest that safety measures such as fencing and pool coverings at childcare facilities, public pools and other properties can also decrease the likelihood of drowning accidents and deaths.

Water-related accidents and near-drowning events can result in serious injuries and could require long-term hospitalization. Victims who survive near-drowning events face an increased risk for developmental disabilities, various types of brain damage and other long-term health problems.

Source: USA Today, "Study: Children's drowning injuries, deaths decline," Ellin Holohan, Jan. 17, 2012