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Published on: September 21, 2017

Effectiveness of booster seats compared with no restraint or seat belt alone for crash injury prevention

Xiaoguang Ma1, Russell Griffin, Gerald McGwin

  • 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.

Academic Emergency Medicine : Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
|September 21, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Belt-positioning booster seats reduce overall injury risk for children in car crashes compared to no restraint. However, they may increase neck and thorax injuries compared to seat belts alone.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Safety
  • Traffic Injury Prevention
  • Biomechanical Engineering

Background:

  • Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of injury and death for children.
  • Proper restraint use is crucial for mitigating crash-related harm.
  • Belt-positioning booster seats are designed to improve seat belt fit for children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of belt-positioning booster seats.
  • To compare outcomes with no restraint and seat belt use only.
  • To assess injury risks in U.S. children during motor vehicle crashes.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective matched cohort study using National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) data (1998-2009).
  • Included children aged 0-10 years not in the front seat.
  • Cox proportional hazards models analyzed overall, fatal, and regional body injury risks.

Main Results:

  • Belt-positioning booster seats significantly reduced overall injury (ISS > 0, AIS ≥ 2, ISS > 8) compared to no restraint.
  • Compared to seat belts only, belt-positioning booster seats showed similar overall injury risk but increased neck and thorax injury risks.
  • Higher risks observed for neck (RR=1.86) and thorax (RR=2.86) injuries when using booster seats versus seat belts alone.

Conclusions:

  • Belt-positioning booster seats offer overall injury protection compared to no restraint.
  • An increased risk of neck and thorax injuries was observed with belt-positioning booster seats versus seat belts alone.
  • Further research is needed to determine if improper booster seat use contributes to these specific injuries.
Abstract

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