U.S. Department of Transportation printed on recycled paper

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Technology Transfer Series

Number 133 September 1996

OBSERVED PATTERNS OF MISUSE OF CHILD SAFETY SEATS

While more adults and children are wearing safety belts, not restrained at all (11.1 percent), or improperly

a new study finds that many children who are placed in moved into safety belts (21.4 percent). Two-thirds

child safety seats (CSSs) could be at risk of not attaining (67.5 percent) were in child safety seats. This trend

the full benefits of the seat because the CSS is not being continued for pre-school children, who based on their

used properly, not installed according to the weight between 40 -60 pounds, should be in booster

manufacturer’s recommendations, or that the child is seats. Almost one-fifth (18.6 percent) were not

being moved to safety belts too soon. Child restraints restrained at all, while three quarters (75.3 percent)

are very effective in reducing injuries and fatalities as were wearing safety belts. A few of the pre-schoolers

they are currently used, but are more effective when (6.1 percent), were in child safety seats.

used properly.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

(NHTSA) sponsored a study to observe more than 5,900

children in safety seats or wearing safety belts in

suburban shopping centers in the spring and summer of

1995. The Ketron Division of the Bionetics Corporation

conducted the study in Mississippi, Missouri,

Pennsylvania, and Washington. They identified how

CSSs were being misused, documented problems of

CSS installation and vehicle occupant protection

systems, and linked characteristics of the driver to

misuse of child safety seats. Since the study was

conducted in only four states, it is not representative of

the whole nation.

Infants, Toddlers, and Pre-schoolers

The good news is that the overall restraint use for

children under 60 pounds was 87.2 percent, slightly

higher than the drivers’ rate of 81.6 percent. Restraint

use was highest for infants, and declined steadily as

children grew older. This study looked at three groups

of young children by weight --infants (20 pounds and

under), toddlers (20 to 40 pounds), and pre-schoolers

(40 to 60 pounds).

In all four states, almost all of the infants were observed

in child safety seats (96.6 percent). A few were wearing

safety belts (0.5 percent), and slightly more (2.8 percent)

were not restrained at all.

The picture changes for toddlers, more of whom were

Misuse of CSS Observed at 79.5 Percent

The research team observed how the child safety seats

were being used. While one researcher interviewed the

driver of the vehicle, another observed the installation

of the child safety seat and how the child was

restrained. Overall, only 20.5 percent of the child

safety seats were being used properly. Misuse was 79.5

percent. The specific errors observed are shown in the

table.

Errors observed in the way 

Child Safety Seats were being used1

Locking Clip 72.0 %

 (not used at all or used wrong for seats that required it)

Harness Retainer Clip for Chest 58.8 %

 (not used at all or used wrong for seats that required it)

Harness Strap 45.8 %

 (not used at all or used wrong)

Safety Belt 16.9 %

 (not attached to CSS or attached wrong)

Direction of the CSS incorrect 9.6 %

Harness not attached to crotchplate 3.3 %

the potential risk factor of each of these errors has not 1

been determined.

Built-in child safety seats were used correctly more

often than conventional seats. Safety seats were used

correctly more often with a vehicle that had a 2-point
lap belt rather than a 3-point lap-shoulder belt. seat. Both parents and grandparents showed the same

Children Moved Too Soon to Safety Belts

Children up to 60 pounds are more safely restrained in

a child safety seat or a booster seat. Many children

were observed using safety belts too soon, and only

32.4 percent of these children were using safety belts

correctly -- two thirds were not. Many of the errors

were attributed to lap belts that were too high across

the abdomen and belts that were too loose. Almost

half of the shoulder belt errors occurred because the

child was not using the shoulder belt at all when it was There was very little difference in misuse of the CSS

present. Most of the other errors occurred when the based on the methods used to install it. When drivers

shoulder belt was too high -- up near or on the child’s learned on their own, CSS misuse was slightly higher

neck. for both CSS installation and placement of the child

Unbelted Drivers More Likely to Have 

Unrestrained Children

Drivers who were observed to be wearing their own

safety belts had fewer (5.4 percent) of the unrestrained

children. However, when the driver was unrestrained,

almost half of the children (47.3 percent) were also

unrestrained. The vehicles that had driver-side

airbags or airbags on both driver and passenger sides

had slightly higher use of child safety seats, but

misuse patterns were similar.

Driver Characteristics

There was no particular relationship between the age

or gender of the driver and the use of child safety Seats (108 pages) are available. Write to the Office

trends. When the driver was a friend or other relative

of the child, however, there was a higher percentage

of unrestrained children. There were also more

unrestrained children as the number of occupants in

the vehicle increased. There was very little

difference regardless of the distance travelled, the

time from the last stop, or whether this was the

vehicle regularly driven.

Who Installed the Child Safety Seat?

in the seat. When the safety seat was frequently

removed from the vehicle, CSS misuse was slightly

higher than when it was only occasionally or never

removed from the vehicle.

Recommendations

The study concludes with several recommendations 

for CSS programs. One key recommendation is the

need to conduct research to quantify the impact of

various types of CSS misuse on children involved in

motor vehicle crashes.

HOW TO ORDER THE REPORT

Limited copies of Patterns of Misuse of Child Safety

of Program Development and Evaluation, NHTSA,

NTS-30, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 

20590, or send a fax to (202) 366-7096. Michael

Smith was the program manager for this project.

U.S. Department 

of Transportation

National Highway 

Traffic Safety 

Administration

400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-33

Washington, DC 20590

TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to disseminate 

information about traffic safety programs, 

including evaluations, innovative programs, 

and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish. 

If you would like to receive a copy contact:

Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor, Evaluation Staff

Traffic Safety Programs

(202) 366-2759, fax (202) 366-7096

E-MAIL: lcosgrove@nhtsa.dot.gov