Child safety programs: implications affecting use of child restraints

Automobile deaths have been identified as the leading cause of death for children between the ages of one and fourteen. Those children who are unrestrained as passengers are at particularly high risk to injury and death. School health and safety programs need to include an understanding of this problem and implement efforts to increase restraint usage. A study of parental seatbelt and child passenger restraint use was conducted to identify frequency of use and behavioral and attitudinal factors influencing use of child restraints. Self-reported data of driver seatbelt use at all times was 19.0%, and the use of a child restraining device was 49.6%. Data recorded in a previous observational study noted a driver seatbelt usage rate of 14.2% and use of a child restraining device at 25.6%. Major reasons for non-use of seatbelts by drivers included discomfort and restricted movement. Reasons for non-use of child restraints focused upon the dislike and discomfort of the child for the restraint.