Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in young children, but many of these fatalities can be prevented. Research has shown that the use of child safety seats can help reduce injuries and deaths in a crash, and new findings support the use of mandated boosters.
A new study by the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics is the first to look at injury rates before and after a state law on boster seats went into effect. The study looked at the New York State booster seat law that was implemented in March 2005, and it found that injuries in children ages 4 to 6 years old dropped 18 percent. This improvement is largely attributed to the increase in use of boosters after the child restraint law was upgraded, from 29 percent to 50 percent for those children that were involved in accidents.
Additional research also supports the benefits of boosters. A study by the Journal of Pediatrics from 2009 found that children aged 4 through 8 years old who used booster seats were 45 percent less likely to sustain injuries than children who were just using the vehicle’s seat belt.
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