The booster seat message is a crucial one; The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that up to 90% of children in the U.S. who should be using a booster seat are not.

Children prematurely moved to seat belts are 4 times more likely to suffer serious head injuries during a collision than children in child safety or booster seats. Safety belts are designed for adults, and children under 4'9" tall should ride with a booster seat.  Despite the risks, national statistics show that 4 out of every 5 kids between the ages of 4 and 8 are not riding in a car booster seat. 

NHTSA awarded a contract in Fall 2001 whose objective was to obtain a measure of the current level of CRS misuse among the general public. The study convened a group of experts to identify “critical” misuses, defined as forms of misuse that could reasonably be expected to raise the risk of injury to a child in the event of a crash. The critical misuses composed the overall misuse measure for the study.

The critical misuse measures were:

- Age and weight appropriateness of the booster seat;

- Direction of seat;

- Placement of seat in relation to air bags;

- Installation and secureness of seat to the vehicle seat (tight safety belt);

- Secureness/tightness of harness straps and crotch strap of the seat

- Use of locking clip for certain vehicle safety belts

- Fit of vehicle safety belt across child in belt-positioning booster seat

- Defective or broken car seat elements.

72.6% of 3,442 observed booster seats displayed one or more critical misuses.

Facts On Booster Seat Misuse

- Higher safety belt misuse (e.g., twisted belts, improper fit) on booster seats when the children indicated that they had buckled themselves

- Multiple instances of observed misuse when older siblings were responsible for buckling younger children into booster seats in the back seats of vehicles

- Nonuse of restraints by children going to football practice with equipment on their bodies (i.e., shoulder ads, helmets);

A greater likelihood of children being unrestrained the farther away they were seated from the driver;

Information compiled from www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

Not sure what car seat is the safest for your child? Click here to get the NHTSA rating on both car seat and booster seat safety.