A study that will be published in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveals which drivers aren’t placing children in child seats when riding in a car. The study also shows many parents are placing their children in the front seat, where they are much less safe if involved in a collision.
The researchers examined data from three years of the National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats, where the use of restraints was directly observed, and found that a driver who didn’t wear a seatbelt was 23 times more likely to leave a child unrestrained in a car than a driver who did wear a seat belt.
Researchers also found evidence that (1) non-whites were more likely to leave a child unrestrained and (2) drivers in the northeast are most likely to restrain a child, drivers in the south are least likely, and drivers from the west were most likely to place children in the front seat.
