Seat Belt Use and Child Safety Seats
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Headline

Seat belt use among children under age eight has recently declined from 88 percent in 2002, the first year for which such data are available, to 82 percent in 2004, largely due to decreases among children ages four to seven. (See Table 2) In 2006, 84 percent of children under the age of eight used seat belts.

Importance

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for children and youth ages 5 to 24.¹ The use of seat belts and child safety restraints greatly reduces the chance of fatalities and serious injuries in motor vehicle crashes.² Seat belt use reduces the risk of fatal injury by almost 50 percent;³ child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 70 percent.⁴

According to recommendations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, all infants under the age of one should be in a rear-facing safety seat, children older than one who are between 20 and 40 pounds (92 percent of toddlers) should be in forward-facing safety seats, and children who are under age eight and less than 4'9" tall (63 percent of four- to seven-year olds) should be in booster seats. In 2006, only 48 percent of infants were using rear-facing safety seats, 67 percent of toddlers were using forward-facing safety seats, and three percent of four- to seven-year olds were in high-back booster seats (although 59 percent were using belts or backless boosters).⁵

Trends

The percentage of youth ages 16 to 24 using seat belts increased from 53 percent in 1994 to 78 percent in 2005 (the latest years from which estimates are available). (See Figure 1) The percentage of infants observed using restraints increased from 88 percent in 1994 to 98 percent in 2006. (See Table 2) In 2006, 84 percent of children under age eight were observed using seat belt or restraint. In 2005, 81 percent of children ages eight to 15 in the front seat used seatbelts or restraints. (See Table 1)

Note: Estimates for children ages eight to fifteen and sixteen to twenty-four refer only to children and youth sitting in a front seat. All other estimates refer to children sitting in a front or back seat.

Differences by Age

Among children under age eight, the youngest children are most likely to use seat belts or restraints. In 2006, 98 percent of children under one used a seat belt or restraint, compared with 89 percent of children ages one to four and 78 percent of children ages four to seven. (See Figure 3) Among older children and youth in a front seat, 81 percent of children ages eight to fifteen and 78 percent of youth ages sixteen to twenty-four used seat belts in 2005 (the latest years from which estimates are available for this age group).

Differences by Belt Status of Driver

Children in cars with a driver using a seat belt are more likely to themselves use seatbelts or restraints. In 2006, 87 percent of children under age eight in a front seat used seat belts or restraints in cars with a belted driver, compared with only 58 percent of children under age eight in cars where the driver was not using a seat belt. (See Figure 2)

Differences by Region

In 2006, children under age eight living in the West were more likely to wear a seat belt (93 percent) than children living in other regions. The percentages for children under age eight in the Northeast, Midwest, and South were 81 percent, 82 percent, and 80 percent, respectively. (See Table 2)

Related Indicators

Drunk Driving

State and Local Estimates

2005 estimates for high school students who never or rarely wore seat belts (while riding in a car driven by someone else) are available for selected states and cities from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5505a1.htm#tab3

International Estimates

Not Available

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National Goals

Through its Healthy People 2010 initiative the federal government has set a national goal to increase the percentage of children under the age of five using child restraints from at 1998 baseline of 92 percent to 100 percent in 2010. http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/html/objectives/15-20.htm

The Federal government's goal for seat belt use among the total U.S. population is to increase the percentage of people who use seat belts from a 1998 baseline of 69 percent to 92 percent in 2010. http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/html/objectives/15-19.htm

The Federal government has also set national goals to reduce the number of people killed or injured in motor vehicle accidents. http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/html/objectives/15-15.htm (deaths) http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/html/objectives/15-17.htm (nonfatal injuries)

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

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Research References

¹ Hoyer, D., Heron, M., Murphy, S., & Kung, H. "Deaths: Final Data for 2003," National Vital Statistics Reports 54(13): Table 10. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf

²Presidential Initiative for Increasing Seat Belt Use Nationwide: Recommendations from The Secretary of Transportation. National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration. Available online at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/airbags/Archive-04/PresBelt/index.html

³Ibid.

⁴U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts 2000: Children. Available online:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2000/2000chdfacts.pdf

⁵Glassbrenner, Donna. Research Note: The Use of Child Restraints in 2007, DOT HS 809 555. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, February 2003.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/ChildRestraints/ChildRestraints.html

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Definition

If a child or youth was observed in a child restraint or using a seat belt, he or she was defined as using a seat belt or restraint. Restraints include a rear-facing safety seat, front-facing safety seat, high-backed booster seat, or seat-belt or backless booster seat. Observations were made by trained observers at various roadways. Estimates were based on child restraints observed in the front or back seat or the front seat only.

Data Source

Data for 2006: Glassbrenner, Donna. (February 2007). Research Note: Safety Belt Use in 2005-Demographic Results. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Safety Administration, DOT HS 810 737. Available online at: http://199.79.179.188/portal/nhtsa_static_file_downloader.jsp?file=/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NCSA/Content/RNotes/2007/810737.pdf

Data for 2005: Glassbrenner, Donna. (December 2005). Research Note: Safety Belt Use in 2005-Demographic Results. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Safety Administration, DOT HS 809 969. Available online at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2005/809969.pdf

Data for 2004 children ages 8 to 15 and youth ages 16 to 24 : Glassbrenner, Donna. (February 2005). Research Note: Safety Belt Use in 2004 - Demographic Results. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT HS 809 848. Available online at:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2005/809848.pdf

All other 2004 data: Glassbrenner, Donna. (February 2005). Child Restraint Use in 2004 - Overall Results, DOT HS 809 845. U.S Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2005/809845.pdf

Data for 2003: Glassbrenner, Donna. Safety Belt Use in 2003-Demographic Characteristics. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, DOT HS 809 729, May 2004. Available online:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/Rpts/2004/809729.pdf

Data for 2002 children under age eight: Glassbrenner, Donna. Research Note: The Use of Child Restraints in 2002, DOT HS 809 555. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, February 2003.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/ChildRestraints/ChildRestraints.html

Data for 2002 children ages eight to 24: Glassbrenner, Donna. Research Note: Safety Belt Use in 2002- Demographic Characteristics, DOT HS 809 557. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, March 2003.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/airbags/demographic03-03/demographic.htm

Data for all other years: Bondy, Nancy and Donna Glassbrenner. Research Note: National Occupant Protection Use Survey- 2000 Controlled Intersection Study, DOT HS 809 318. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, August 2001.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2001/809-318.pdf

Raw Data Source

National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS)
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-01/summaries/4313GA.html

Approximate Date of Next Update

Unknown

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