Ensuring Child Passenger Safety: A Crucial Responsibility

Child passenger safety is a critical issue that deserves our utmost attention. Recent findings from the AAA automotive group and the National Safety Council (NSC) have shed light on the alarming reality that car seat and booster seat use declines significantly after a child turns three, and a staggering 74% of these safety devices were improperly installed or used in 2023. With federal data showing that more than 100,000 children were injured in car crashes in 2022 alone, it is clear that we must take immediate action to address this pressing concern.

Safeguarding Our Most Vulnerable Passengers

The Evolving Safety Needs of Growing Children

As children grow, their safety needs evolve, and it is crucial for parents and caregivers to stay informed and adapt their child restraint systems accordingly. Rhonda Shah, the traffic safety and advocacy manager for AAA, emphasizes this point, stating, "Just like new shoes and clothes, a growing child requires seat adjustments. Traffic safety is central to AAA's mission, and we are here to help everyone understand what type of child restraint to use and when."The analysis conducted by the AAA and NSC examined five years of government crash data, revealing that between 2018 and 2022, over four million children aged 11 and under were involved in police-reported vehicle crashes, resulting in 547,000 injuries and nearly 3,000 fatalities. These alarming statistics underscore the urgent need for parents and caregivers to ensure that their child's car seat or booster seat is properly installed and used.

Common Misuses and Their Consequences

The study identified three common misuses of car seats and boosters that can have devastating consequences:1. Car seat installation that is too loose2. Failure to use the tether when installing a forward-facing car seat with either the lower anchors or seat belt3. Harness that is too loose when securing a child in a car seatThese seemingly minor oversights can significantly compromise the effectiveness of child restraint systems, putting young passengers at risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data cited in the report underscores the importance of proper usage, stating that correctly used child restraints in passenger cars can reduce fatalities by 71% for infants younger than one and by 54% for children 1 to 4 years old.

Ensuring Proper and Regularly Adjusted Restraints

The analysis also highlighted the alarming fact that nearly 4 in 10 (37%) children aged 7-11 killed in a car crash were completely unrestrained. For the youngest children, under the age of 3, 1 in 4 (26%) who were killed were unrestrained. This emphasizes the critical need for parents and caregivers to ensure that their children are properly secured in the appropriate car seat or booster seat throughout their entire journey.The researchers noted that while parents and caregivers are generally good at seeking expert help when children are less than one year old or before birth, they often fail to return for adjustments as the child ages. This oversight can have devastating consequences, as the NDCF database reveals that Child Passenger Safety Technicians inspect about five times the number of rear-facing car seats, used for the youngest children, compared to forward-facing car seats, and 83.5% of those were not used correctly.

Transitioning to Seat Belts: Timing is Crucial

Another key finding from the analysis is the importance of understanding the appropriate time to transition a child from a car seat to a booster seat and then to a seat belt. Nearly 25% of children move to booster seats too soon, and 93.6% transition to a seat belt too soon, according to the NDCF. Even some children older than ten years old may benefit from using a booster seat, as the researchers emphasize that seat belt fit is more about a child's height than age.This underscores the need for parents and caregivers to stay informed about the evolving safety needs of their growing children and to seek guidance from experts to ensure that the appropriate child restraint system is used at each stage of development.To support parents and caregivers in navigating the complexities of child passenger safety, the AAA and NSC have provided valuable resources, including information on child passenger safety resources by state, occupant protection laws, and the ability to arrange online car seat checks with National Safety Council staff. By leveraging these resources and prioritizing the proper installation and use of child restraint systems, we can work together to protect our most vulnerable passengers and reduce the devastating impact of car crashes on children.