Seat belts are designed for adults. Children over 40 pounds
and under 4'9" tall are too small to fit into adult seat
belts. Booster seats work by raising a child up so that the lap
and shoulder belt are positioned safely. Booster seats are a simple
solution that save lives and prevent injuries.
Basic Research Facts
How Seat Belts That Don't Fit Properly Can Harm
Children
How Booster Seats Improve Seat Belt Fit
Basic Research Facts
Motor vehicle crashes are the single largest killer for children
age 4-8 years.
4-8 year-old children are particularly vulnerable in the car.
Even though only 43% of all of the child passengers are 4-8 year-olds,
55% of child passenger injuries are in this group.
Booster seats protect kids from serious injury better than seatbelts
alone. Booster seats reduce a child's risk of injury by 59% compared
to using only a seat belt.
Booster seats have been proven to be effective in protecting children
up to 8 years old from serious injury.
Booster seats protect against head injury 4 times better than
seatbelts.
Click
here for pdf of a data summary of basic facts about booster
seats.
For more data, please visit the
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention,
the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
the
National SAFE KIDS Coalition, or the
Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia.