Parents Still Struggle With Proper Child-Seat Use, Study Finds

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - 13:43

With National Child Passenger Safety Week approaching, the nonprofit organization Safe Kids USA [1] released on Thursday new research relating to the use of child safety seats.

The study, the largest of its kind, used data collected in 79,000 child safety seat inspections completed by Safe Kids coalitions and specially trained technicians over the course of a year.

The study found that top tethers on forward-facing car seats were being used less than one-third of the time a baby or child was in position. And even those parents who used a top tether strap used it correctly only 59 percent of the time.

When properly used, top tether straps help limit the movement of a child’s head in a crash, further reducing the risk of injury.

For more information on car seats and road safety, click here [2].