I did a little research last year. The AAP policy statement on rear-facing and forward-facing was released in early 2011. It studied serious injuries, not fatalities. I was curious to know if there was a huge increase from children dying in car crashes once they reached 12 months of age (and turned FF) or at 4 years of age (and moved to a booster).
http://carseatblog.com/21088/motor-vehicle-deaths-by-age/
There's another year of data now for 2011. It's hardly scientific, since it is only raw data. There may not be any conclusions to be drawn from such data, but it is still an interesting discussion. Here are some similar numbers for just the most recent 5 years of data, 2007-2011:
WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports, National and Regional. Unintentional Injuries, Cause of Death = MV Traffic (excludes Pedestrians).
Age <1: 480
Age 1: 473
Age 2: 472
Age 3: 434
Age 4: 430
Age 5: 422
Age 6: 378
Age 7: 356
Age 8: 384
Age 9: 383
Age 10: 340
http://carseatblog.com/21088/motor-vehicle-deaths-by-age/
There's another year of data now for 2011. It's hardly scientific, since it is only raw data. There may not be any conclusions to be drawn from such data, but it is still an interesting discussion. Here are some similar numbers for just the most recent 5 years of data, 2007-2011:
WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports, National and Regional. Unintentional Injuries, Cause of Death = MV Traffic (excludes Pedestrians).
Age <1: 480
Age 1: 473
Age 2: 472
Age 3: 434
Age 4: 430
Age 5: 422
Age 6: 378
Age 7: 356
Age 8: 384
Age 9: 383
Age 10: 340