A new study of children aged 4-8 was published in the journal Injury Prevention in October, and concludes that booster seat laws are associated with a significant reduction in fatalities.  The researchers found that legislation increased the likelihood of children to be restrained at all, and that children were much more likely to be correctly restrained in a booster seat.

When the vehicle drivers used a seat belt, the odds were higher that children were correctly restrained in a booster seat.  On the other hand, children travelling with unbelted drivers were using booster seats only 1-2% of the time.

These findings came from a detailed study of all 14,571 children aged 4–8 involved in fatal frontal motor vehicle collisions in the USA between 1995 and 2005.  The data was obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a database created by The National Center for Statistics and Analysis and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

FARS contains records of motor vehicle collisions in the USA that involve the fatality of either an occupant of a motor vehicle or a non-motorist, such as a pedestrian or pedal cyclist who has been struck by a motorist and are killed in the crash.

Specifically, the researchers determined that in states with a booster seat law, children were 20% less likely to die in such accidents than in states without a law.  They were almost 60% more likely to be restrained, and more than 4 times more likely to be properly restrained.

It isn’t entirely clear whether children are likely to be better restrained in the car because of the fear of being caught on the wrong side of the law, or the positive effects of all the safety messages in the media that accompany booster seat legislation.  We think it’s probably a combination of both.  But perhaps it doesn’t even matter so much anymore.  Currently only 3 US states, 3 Canadian provinces and the 3 Canadian territories remain without booster seat legislation.  Certainly for the vast majority of us in North America, the law is clear and the message is consistent:  children need to be properly restrained.  Seat belts were designed for adults, and children need booster seats to raise them up sufficiently so the seat belt fits over the bony areas of the body, namely the hips and collarbone.  Otherwise, they are at greater risk for serious injuries or death in a crash.