Child Safety Seats Offer A Safer Ride Than Seat Belts For Children

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 05 Dec 2008 - 8:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Child safety seats help to reduce the risk of death during severe traffic collisions and generally outperform seatbelts.

Using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System data from 1996 to 2005, researchers examined the effectiveness of child restraints in preventing death during motor vehicle collisions among children 3 years or younger. They found that child safety seat use among children aged 3 or younger greatly reduces the risk of death during traffic collisions. Unrestrained children were three times more likely to die during collisions than were children using a child safety seat. Furthermore, they found that safety seat effectiveness is greater for younger children: death risk reduction is 74 percent for children one year and younger and 59 percent for children aged two and three years.

"Clinicians and public health practitioners should continue to encourage parents to use child safety seats in favor of seat belts and should provide information on the proper selection and use of safety seats," said the study's authors.

Title of original article
"The Effectiveness of Child Restraint Systems for Children Aged 3 Years or Younger During Motor Vehicle Collisions: 1996 to 2005"

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly Journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of books and periodicals promoting sound scientific standards, action programs and public policy to enhance health. More information is available at http://www.apha.org.

American Journal of Public Health

• Additional
• References
• Citations