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Child Passenger Safety Statistics


child passenger

DALLAS--Oct. 15, 2013: Car seats and booster seats are life saving devices that unfortunately are used incorrectly far more often than most people know. Many parents go to great lengths to protect their children from harm, and taking steps to ensure their protection while riding in vehicles is no exception; however, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated one in seven misuse car seats in a way that may increase the risk of child injury in the event of a crash. The following are additional statistics on child passenger safety that if more widely known, can help lead to better habits that may reduce the incidence of serious and fatal injuries to children in car accidents.

§ Use of child safety seats leads to a reduction in risk of infant car accident death by 71 percent and by 54 percent for toddlers who range in ages 1 to 4. § Over a purported 600,000 children ages 12 and under have rode in vehicles while unrestrained in 2010, according to a CDC study. § Nearly a reported 40 percent of children riding with drivers who failed to use a seatbelt were also unrestrained, according to the same study. § Booster seats reduce the risk of children 4 to 8 years of age becoming seriously injured in motor vehicles by 45 percent.

The Dallas car accident lawyers of 1-800-Car-Wreck note that parents and caregivers can take a number of steps to help ensure that their children are better protected while riding in a motor vehicle. These include setting a good example by wearing a seat belt, not allowing children under the age of 12 to ride in the front seat, and ensuring that car seats are properly installed.