Child Safety Seats
Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children
ages 1 year and older. According to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1,543 children ages 14 and younger died as
occupants in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2002.
Fifty percent of those children were unrestrained.
According to the NHTSA, child safety seats reduce the risk of death in
passenger cars by about 70% for infants and by about 55% for toddlers ages
1-4 years. For children ages 4-7 years, belt-positioning booster
seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to safety belts alone. And for
children ages 8 years and older, car seat belts reduce injury risk by
about 50%.
Many children who ride in child safety seats, however, are improperly
secured. A survey of more than 17, 500 children found that only 15%
of children in safety seats were correctly harnessed into correctly
installed seats.
The correct installation of child safety seats is often very confusing
to parents, grandparents and caregivers. New technology in vehicles and
child safety seats adds to this confusion.
The pages listed below provide information on child passenger safety.
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