Overall, studies show that when child safety seats are available in vehicles, one in five is incorrectly used, seriously reducing their protective value. These same surveys indicate that child safety restraints, if properly used, reduce the chance of a child's death by 90 percent should an accident occur. It's a common misconception that a child is safe when traveling in a vehicle if held in an adult's lap. This isn't true. The impact force of an accident is far too great for an adult to resist, plus the crash or sudden stop occurs too quickly for an adult to react.
Many young children are top heavy and susceptible to head and spinal cord injury.
All seats are geared to protect the child's head. An overwhelmingly majority of all injuries to children in vehicle accidents are injuries to the head causing brain damage, permanent disfigurement, epilepsy or death. If a child safety seat is not available, children should be secured in a lap belt in the rear seat of the vehicle. There are three basic types of child safety seats on the market which have been tested and are recommended by various safety organizations. They are the infant car carrier, the convertible and the booster seat.