Number 375 May 2009

Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Background

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

conducts a national telephone survey on a periodic basis 

to monitor the public’s attitudes, knowledge, and selfreported behavior regarding use of seat belts and child 

occupant restraints. The 2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant 

Safety Survey (MVOSS) was the sixth in the series that 

began in 1994. The survey was composed of two questionnaires, each administered to a randomly selected sample 

of approximately 6,000 persons age 16 and older, with 

younger ages over-sampled. Interviewing ran from January 9, 2007, to April 30, 2007.

Parent/Caregiver Subgroup

The survey selected a subgroup of drivers to ask detailed 

questions about children’s use of child restraints. These 

drivers (parents/caregivers) were considered most likely 

to have significant responsibility for transporting young 

children. The respondents were chosen for questioning if 

they fell into one of the following categories:

■ Parents of children under age 9. Usually this was a parent living with a child or children. Sometimes it was a 

parent not living with the child, but who drove the child 

(children) at least on occasion during the past year.

■ Nonparents living with children under age 9. These 

were drivers who said that they at least sometimes 

drove with a child under 9 who lives in the driver’s 

household. 

The interviewers asked respondents to focus on one specific child for the interviews. If there was more than one 

child under age 9 in the household, one child was randomly selected. Respondents were asked about child 

restraint use with the selected child.

Reported Child Restraint Use

Interviewers asked the parents/caregivers how frequently 

the selected child uses a car seat when riding with them. 

They were told that car seats for purposes of the survey 

included infant seats, toddler seats, and booster seats. 

The majority (77%) reported that the selected child used 

a car seat “all of the time.” Only 5% said the child was a 

car seat user, but not all the time. Almost one-fifth (17%) 

said the selected child “never” used a car seat. Usually 

this was because the child reportedly had graduated to 

seat belt use. For those children identified as never using 

child restraints, the vast majority (96%) reportedly wore 

seat belts all of the time when riding in motor vehicles. 

Another 2% reportedly used seat belts most of the time.

The survey employed a series of questions to identify the 

type of seat used by the referent child. Table 1 shows the 

transition from infant seats to child safety seats at age 1, 

and the movement to booster seats beginning at age 3 and 

accelerating at age 4. It also shows many 7- and 8-year-olds 

having left child restraints for seat belts alone. In many 

cases, the booster seat would still have been the appropriate restraint for the child. Despite a concerted effort to 

obtain correct seat type information, there remained a few 

obvious errors in how respondents described their seats, 

which is reflected in the table (e.g., some older children in 

infant seats). This attests to the difficulties in making such 

determinations over the phone.

There were 763 referent children age 4 to 8 for whom 

detailed child restraint information was obtained. 

Weighted estimates showed 40% using booster seats and 

another 24% using front-facing child safety seats, at least 

on occasion. In 2003, based on 850 cases, the numbers were 

21% using booster seats and 19% using front-facing child 

safety seats. The number of cases per individual year of 

age for both years was small, between 100 and 200. But the 

general pattern of the data suggests that booster seat use 

by children age 6 and 7 is no longer a rare occurrence.

Inspection Stations

Parents/caregivers whose referent child at least on occasion used a child restraint were asked if they had ever 

gone to a place where people can go to have someone 

check whether they are correctly attaching their car seats 

2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey 

Finds Children More Likely to Use Booster Seats 

Compared to 2003
Table 1. Percentage of Children Who at Least on Occasion Use a Child Restraint, by Age

Age <1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 4–8

2007 Survey

Unweighted N 116 107 148 128 155 119 155 146 188 763

Booster Seat 5% --- 3% 16% 42% 50% 51% 40% 20% 40%

Front-Facing Seat 13% 85% 95% 78% 47% 29% 22% 14% 8% 24%

Infant Seat 79% 14% 1% 4% 2% 5% 1% --- * 2%

Undetermined Seat 2% --- 1% 1% 7% 3% 2% 1% 1% 3%

Never Uses Seat 1% 1% --- --- 1% 9% 24% 44% 69% 30%

Never Drives Child --- --- --- --- * 3% * * 2% 1%

2003 Survey

Unweighted N 148 110 169 163 143 171 158 197 181 850

Booster Seat 7% 3% 8% 12% 29% 32% 27% 15% 9% 21%

Front-Facing Seat 18% 84% 82% 76% 53% 27% 15% 8% 1% 19%

Infant Seat 64% 9% 1% 2% 1% 2% 1% * 1% 1%

Undetermined Seat --- 1% 2% 1% --- --- --- * --- *

Never Uses Seat 3% * 3% 6% 13% 34% 54% 74% 87% 56%

Never Drives Child 7% 2% 4% 4% 3% 4% 3% 1% --- 2%

*Less than 0.5% ---Zero cases

and buckling in their children. About one-quarter (26%) Booster Seats

responded “Yes.” Most often, the sponsor was the local The vast majority of all the parents/caregivers (92%) had police (40%) or fire or rescue units (27%). The parents/ seen or heard of booster seats. Two-thirds of those who 

caregivers usually found out about the car seat check were aware of them (67%) said they had used them. The 

through word-of-mouth (30%), doctors’ offices or hospi- most frequent age at which they started using booster 

tals (17%), radio announcements (10%), the local paper seats with their children was 4 (33%), but 35% reported an 

(9%), or flyers (8%). age younger than 4. Among the 92% of parents/caregivers 

who had heard of booster seats, 17% had concerns about 

Most of the parents/caregivers who had gone to an their safety. The concerns revolved around the perceived inspection station (66%) said that the technician did not lack of security of the attachment (48%), perceived inad- find anything wrong with how the seat was attached or equacy of the seat to hold the child (27%), or nonspecific the child buckled; 3% were unsure. But when asked if the expressions of concern about safety (25%).

technician suggested that they do anything differently, 

40% said “Yes” compared to 31% who had said that the How to Order

technician found something wrong with what they were For a copy of 2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey, 

doing. Two-thirds of the parents/caregivers (67%) said Volume 5 Child Safety Seat Report (134 pages plus appenthat they were given a chance to practice attaching the dix) prepared by Schulman, Ronca, and Bucuvalas, Inc., 

seat and buckling in the child, as opposed to only watch- write to the Office of Behavioral Safety Research, NHTSA, 

ing the technician attach the seat. Upon leaving the sta- NTI-130, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 

tion, 79% of the parents/caregivers felt fully confident 20590, or send a fax to 202-366-7394, or download from 

that they could attach the car seat and buckle in the child www.nhtsa.gov. Alan Block was the project manager for 

correctly themselves. this study. 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI-132

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 Angela H. Eichelberger, Ph.D., 

Editor, fax 202-366-7394, e-mail: angela.eichelberger@dot.gov.