Car Booster Seats Cut Injury Risk in Half

Children in booster seats have roughly half the risk of injury during a car accident as those who are only using a seat belt, according to a study by the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Published in the current edition of the journal Pediatrics, the study found that children ages 4-8 benefited greatly from the use of a booster seat, no matter if it had a high-back or was backless. Analyzing data from 7,151 children involved in 6,591 car accidents, researchers found that 70% were restrained with a seat belt while 30% used a booster seat. That 70% had double the injury risk of the 30% who used a booster seat.

The study reaffirms that the booster seats are important because they raise children up so the lap-and-shoulder belt is positioned more effectively across a child’s smaller body; seat belts are designed to restrain considerably heavier adults. Using a booster seat helps distribute the force of a crash across the most resilient parts of a child’s body — especially during side-impact crashes, which are the deadliest for children.

The use of booster seats was credited with a 68% reduction in injury risk for near-side impacts and a whopping 82% for far-side impacts.

The evidence suggest that no matter how much kids complain, booster seats are a safety priority for children in cars through age 8.

Study Reaffirms Benefit of Car Booster Seats (Reuters)