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Child Passenger Safety Guide

February 9-15 is National Child Passenger Safety Week! Did you know that children who are not buckled up are three times more likely to suffer a significant injury in a crash than children who are buckled up? Significant injuries include brain injuries, fractures and damage to internal organs.

4 STEPS FOR KIDS

The results are shocking. Look at some of the statistics:

Almost 800 children under 15 years old are injured or maimed in motor vehicle crashes every day.

Eighty-two percent of car seats are misused in some way; and eight out of ten child safety seats are improperly installed.

Children age two to five who are prematurely graduated to safety belts are four times more likely to sustain a serious head injury than those restrained in child safety seats or booster seats.

This month, we would like to help families by providing helpful information on child passenger seat safety.

Below are the 4 Steps for Kids and some more facts:

1. Rear-facing infant seats in the back seat from birth to at least one year old and at least 20 pounds.

2. Forward-facing toddler seats in the back seat from age one to about age four and 20 to 40 pounds.

3. Booster seats in the back seat from about age four and 40 pounds to at least age eight, unless 4'9".

4. Safety belts at age eight or older or taller than 4'9". All children 12 and under should ride in the back seat.

Most kids age four to eight need booster seats. NHTSA recommends using booster seats in the back seat for children from about age four and 40 pounds to at least age eight, unless 4'9".

Moving to a safety belt too early greatly increases risk of injury. Children age two to five who are prematurely graduated to safety belts are four times more likely to sustain a serious head injury than those restrained in child safety seats or booster seats.¹.

Because many State laws only require children to be in a safety seat up to age four or so, many parents assume older kids are safe in just a safety belt. However, all children need to be restrained correctly whenever they ride in a motor vehicle. As of December 2002, only 15 States and the District of Columbia had enacted booster seat provisions in their child restraint laws.²

The booster seat step is overlooked by the majority of people-across race and income levels. Sixty-three percent of children who should have been in belt-positioning booster seats, typically children age four to eight, are inappropriately restrained. Many children are placed in the wrong restraint. A third of children (33 percent) age 14 and under ride in the wrong restraint type for their age and size. ²

The vast majority of child safety seats are used incorrectly. According to a 2002 National SAFE KIDS Campaign study, more than 81 percent of child restraints are used incorrectly, including 88 percent of forward-facing toddler seats, 86 percent of rear-facing infant seats and 85 percent of safety belts, as determined at child passenger safety seat inspection stations across the country. This validates the findings of similar research by NHTSA. ²

Child passenger safety technicians have found and corrected numerous installation errors in seats installed by parents and caregivers. To find local inspection stations, visit nhtsa.dot.gov or seatcheck.org.

Research on the effectiveness of child safety seats has found them to reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than one year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (one to four years old) in passenger cars.³

Child seats, including booster seats, and safety belts help save kids’ lives. Crash fatalities among children age 15 and under decreased by 8.6 percent in 2001. ⁴

Child safety seats save infants. In 2001, 84 percent of infants involved in a fatal crash who were restrained in a child safety seat survived, compared with 42 percent of those who were unrestrained. ⁴

Motor vehicle crashes are still the leading cause of death for children age four to 14. ⁵

Child care providers, as well as parents, need to follow child passenger safety recommendations. Approximately 7 million children age five and under are in some form of child care.⁶

Adult driver safety belt use is the leading predictor of child restraint use. In a study, 40 percent of children riding with unbelted drivers were completely unrestrained, compared with only 5 percent of children riding with drivers using safety belts.²

The LATCH system helps parents install car seats tightly with the least effort and the least likelihood of error. As of Sept. 1, 2002, all new child safety seats and new motor vehicles, except convertibles, come equipped with the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system. LATCH makes it possible to install a child safety seat (and some booster seats) more easily without using an adult safety belt. When completely phased in, LATCH is expected to reduce by 50 percent the misuse associated with the incorrect installation of child safety seats.

More Info!

View the Parent's Guide to Buying and Using Booster Seats

Print out the Proper Child Safety Seat Use Chart

¹ Winston, F.K., Durbin, D.R., Kallan, M.J., & Moll, E.K. (2000) "The danger of premature graduation to safety belts for young children." Pediatrics, 105(6), 1179-1183
² Child Passengers at Risk in America: A National Study of Restraint Use, National SAFE KIDS Campaign, 2002
³ NHTSA’s Traffic Safety Facts 2001 - Children
⁴ Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatality and Injury Estimates for 2001, National Center for Statistics and Analysis
⁵ National Center for Health Statistics, 1998, most recent statistics available
⁶ U.S. Census, 1997 data, 2002 report

Below are some books with information about child passenger safety. Use Amazon.com's secure server to order:

My Trusty Car Seat: Buckling Up for Safety (Berenstain Bears Baby Board Books): - Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain. Ages: Baby-Preschool. Buy it now through Amazon.com's secure server! Click HERE or on the image of the books to give this gift to yourself or someone else!

I'm Safe! in the Car: - Wendy Gordon, Paul Gordon. Ages: Baby-Preschool. Buy it NOW through Amazon.com's secure server! Click HERE or on the image of the books to give this gift to yourself or someone else!

Visit the following Internet sites for more information about child passenger safety:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Buckle Up America

National Safety Council

SafeKids.org

SeatCheck.org

Article: Kids 'N Cars: Never Leave Your Children Unattended in Your Vehicle, Not Even For a Minute!

Copyright © National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Please exercise reasonable caution, follow correct guidelines, and always make sure to wear your seatbelt. Remember: "Safety belt use isn't just a good idea: It's the law." Reprinted with permission.

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