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Child restraint misuse: Do parents properly install car seats?
David C Schwebel1, Morag MacKay2, T Mark Beasley3
1Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States.
Journal of Safety Research
|December 3, 2025
Summary
Despite widespread issues, most child restraint components are installed correctly, significantly improving child safety in vehicles. Continued efforts are needed to reduce misuse and ensure complete correct installation for maximum protection.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric injury prevention
- Motor vehicle safety
- Public health research
Background:
- Child restraints significantly reduce pediatric injury risk in motor vehicle crashes.
- Child restraint misuse is prevalent, with 70-95% of restraints installed or used incorrectly in previous decades.
- Recent data is needed to assess current child restraint misuse rates and common errors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present recent national data on child restraint misuse in the United States.
- To identify the most common types of child restraint misuse.
- To analyze misuse patterns across different installation methods.
Main Methods:
- 1,477 vehicle owners with installed child restraints (excluding booster seats) participated across seven U.S. sites.
- Certified technicians assessed restraint installation using a standardized checklist.
- Data included overall percentage of correct components, individual component scores, and an overall correct installation score.
Main Results:
- 85.25% of child restraint installation/use components were correct overall.
- Rear-facing, LATCH/lower-anchor installations had the highest correct component rate (89.07%).
- Only 11.9% of restraints were installed and used entirely correctly; forward-facing seatbelt installations had the lowest correct component rate (76.50%).
Conclusions:
- Few child restraints are installed and used completely correctly, consistent with past findings.
- A majority of installation components are correct, enhancing child safety compared to being unrestrained.
- Multifaceted, collaborative efforts involving manufacturers, public health professionals, agencies, and parents are crucial to reduce child restraint misuse.
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