Legislating child restraint usage –Its effect on self-reported child restraint use rates in a central city

Increase in best practice child car restraint use for children aged 2–5 years in low socioeconomic areas after introduction of mandatory child restraint laws

“…35,36 In this analysis, we saw more children aged 2-3 years in booster seats post-legislation, and this form of inappropriate restraint use might reflect confusion over messages being conveyed in public education campaigns. Brixey et al 25 made a similar observation following the introduction of appropriate restraint legislation in North America. This confusion likely reflects parental difficulties in distinguishing between forward facing restraints and booster seats and/or distinguishing the safety benefit of the two types of restraint for children in this age range.…”

“…A strength of this study is that we used parent interview to determine child age and direct observation of restraint practices of children in cars by trained technicians, rather than relying on self report 25 or visual estimates of child age. 34 This approach allowed robust assessment of age-appropriateness and correct use of the restraint.…”

“…While increases in appropriate restraint use have been observed after the introduction of legislation in other jurisdictions for children aged less than four years, [22][23][24] this has not always been the case. 24,25 A US study found self-reported child restraint use did not change significantly in a low socioeconomic sample of families after the introduction of legislation specifying age-appropriate restraint use. Furthermore, they found a significant increase in premature graduation to booster seats from forward-facing child restraints.…”

“…Furthermore, they found a significant increase in premature graduation to booster seats from forward-facing child restraints. 25 Legislation requiring the use of specific types of car restraints by children of specific ages or sizes does not necessarily affect correct use of those restraints. Brown et al 12 noted that incorrect use was higher among Australian children using size-appropriate restraints and suggested this was due to the opportunity for more errors in child restraint systems than in seat belts.…”

Preventing motor vehicle crashes related spine injuries in children

“…In addition, findings showing that poor urban children remained sub-optimally restrained despite legislation will encourage states to develop targeted educational, law enforcement, and economic programs directed at this group. [64] Also, strict laws on drunk-driving should be introduced and enforced. Methods include setting lower blood alcohol concentration limits for young drivers, undertaking sobriety checks or selective breath testing, undertaking random breath-testing and raising the legal drinking age.…”