Also recommended was that law enforcement agencies regularly conduct high visibility enforcement activities, emphasizing restraint use by four through 15 year old children and adolescents. In the area of marketing and public education , the Panel report emphasized the need for programs appropriately targeted to 4 through 15 year olds, with a special emphasis on 13 through 15 year olds, who are the lowest belt users among this group. Another key marketing recommendation was the need to make booster seats available at retail outlets and through distribution and subsidy programs. Product design and research recommendations underscored the need to regulate and develop safety standards for belt positioning devices, while increasing the public's understanding of their function. While restraint use for infants is 85 percent, restraint use for children ages five through fifteen decreases to 64 percent.
Many states fail to address the issue of children as passengers in the cargo area of pickup trucks.
The recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel, described above, are an excellent start for addressing these gaps.