Safe restraint of the child passenger

The aim of this study was to understand the need for, and use of, booster seats in the 4-12 years age group and to identify risk factors for booster seat-non-use.

A cross-sectional sample of 1101 children aged 4-12 years travelling in 663 privately owned vehicles was taken from the Auckland region. Auckland is New Zealand's largest population centre, with a population of over 1.5 million. Information was gathered using a short questionnaire followed by direct inspection to identify those children using booster seats. The SafetyBeltSafe USA '5-step rule' was used to look at those children not using a booster seat to determine whether one was still required.

While booster seat use has improved significantly in younger children since a similar study in 1992, only 40% of sampled children requiring a booster seat were using one. Booster seat use by children requiring them declined sharply as age increased. While 93% of 5- to 8-year-olds required a booster, only 30% were using one. The requirement for booster seats fell dramatically to 34% of 9- to 12-year-olds, but only 3% were using one.

The high rate of need for booster seats and the lack of use of booster seats in children aged 5-8 years is a strong argument for legislation and education programmes targeting this age group. While the proportion of 9- to 12-year-olds needing a booster drops sharply, there would likely be benefits from educating parents on the '5-step rule' or similar method to help identify the 30% of these older children that would continue to benefit from a booster seat. Rear seating should be promoted alongside booster seat use in the age group 4-12 years.