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Seat Belt Use and Child Safety Seats
Headline After falling to 82 percent in 2004, seat belt use among children under age eight increased to 89 percent in 2007. (Table 2) 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 71 percent.4 According to recommendations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, all infants under the age of one or under 20 pounds 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 2007, 72 percent of infants were using rear-facing safety seats, 69 percent of toddlers were using forward-facing safety seats, and 25 percent of four- to seven-year olds were in high-back booster seats (although 49 percent were using belts or backless boosters).5 The percentage of youth ages 16 to 24 using seat belts increased from 53 percent in 1994 to 77 percent in 2007. (Figure 1) The percentage of infants observed using restraints increased from 88 percent in 1994 to 98 percent in 2007. (Table 2) In 2007, 89 percent of children under age eight were observed using seat belt or restraint. In 2007, 82 percent of children ages eight to 15 in the front seat used seatbelts or restraints. (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 2007, 98 percent of children under one, 96 percent of children ages one to three, and 85 percent of children ages four to seven used a safety seat, seat belt, or restraint. (Figure 3) Among older children and youth in a front seat, 82 percent of children ages eight to fifteen and 77 percent of youth ages sixteen to twenty-four used seat belts in 2007.
Differences by Belt Status of Driver Children in cars with a driver using a seat belt are more likely to themselves use seat belts or restraints. In 2007, 92 percent of children under age eight used seat belts or restraints in cars with a belted driver, compared with only 61 percent of children under age eight in cars where the driver was not using a seat belt. (Figure 2) Differences by Region In 2007, among children under age eight, those living in the West were most likely to wear a seat belt (94 percent), while children living in the South were the least likely to be belted (85 percent). (Table 2) Regional disparities were also apparent for older children: in 2003, only about half (49 percent) of children ages eight to 15 living in the South wore a seat belt when riding in the front seat, as compared with 88 percent of children in the same age group living in the Northeast. (Table 1) Trend estimates for high school students who never or rarely wore seat belts (while riding in a car driven by someone else) are on Table 3 of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Estimates for high school students who never or rarely wore seat belts (while riding in a car driven by someone else) by specific state and city location are available from the YRBS. International Estimates Not Available
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. The Federal government has also set national goals to reduce the number of people killed or injured in motor vehicle accidents. What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs 1 Hoyer, D., Heron, M., Murphy, S., & Kung, H. "Deaths: Final Data for 2003," National Vital Statistics Reports 54(13): Table 10. 2Presidential Initiative for Increasing Seat Belt Use Nationwide: Recommendations from The Secretary of Transportation. National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration. 3Ibid. 4Lawrence E. Decina, Kathy H. Lococo, and Charlene T. Doyle. (2004) "Child Restraint Use Survey: LATCH Use and Misuse." National Center for Statistics and Analysis, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, DC 20590. Report No. DOT HS 810 679. 5Glassbrenner, Donna and Tony Jianqiang Ye (January 2008): Child Restraint Use in 2007--Use of Correct Restraint Types," DOT HS 810 895. 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 2007 children ages 8 to 15 and youth ages 16 to 24 "Child Restraint Use in 2007-Use of Correct Restraint Types": DOT HS 810 897. Raw Data Source National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) Approximate Date of Next Update Unknown
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