Children
Child seats
Booster seat evaluations
Keeping children safe in crashes — photos and videos designed to help parents choose the right type of restraint for their child's age and size and to provide general information on installation and use
Fatality Facts: Children
2007
2006
2005
State laws
How
state laws measure up
Child
restraint/belt use laws
Consumer videos available for purchase
Kids and airbags/Los niños y las
bolsas de aire — Airbags
are a big success; they've saved many lives, but they've also caused
some serious injuries and deaths. Children and especially infants in
rear-facing restraints are at risk. Using crash test footage and demonstrations
of correct restraint use, this video tells how to protect youngsters
in vehicles with airbags
Consumer brochure 
Kids
& airbags — how to transport children safely and eliminate the risk of airbag
injury
Research paper
Evaluation of the static belt fit provided by belt-positioning booster seats; Matthew P. Reed, Sheila M. Ebert-Hamilton, Christopher P. Sherwood, Kathleen D. Klinich, and Miriam A. Manary, September 2008
Highlights from the Institute's research since 1969
News
October 1, 2008 Many booster seats aren't up to the job of improving safety belt fit for children
June 11, 2003 LATCH
systems for child restraints aren't always a snap; not every child
restraint will work in every vehicle
December 20 , 2000 Best & worst
state traffic safety laws: some states do a better job than others
March 30, 1999 Despite
warnings, many children still ride unrestrained or in the front seat
December 14, 1998 Black
and Hispanic children, teenagers at high risk of motor vehicle crash
death
June 27, 1997 With
or without airbags, children are safer when they ride restrained in
back
Status Report newsletter
Vol. 43, No. 9, October 22, 2008: Child safety seat use in crashes has increased during the past decade
Vol 43, No. 8, October 1, 2008: Special issue: booster seats
Vol. 43, No. 7, September 9, 2008: Pregnant women should buckle up to help protect their fetuses
Vol. 43, No. 5, July 1, 2008: Power windows can seriously injure or kill young
children whose heads, arms, or other body parts get
trapped, a Q&A reveals; Backover crashes often happen when SUV drivers
don't see toddlers behind their vehicles
Vol. 42, No. 5, May 12, 2007: Special issue: one day of crashes; the stories of some of the 119 people killed in crashes on June 7, 2005
Vol. 40, No. 8, September 28,
2005: NHTSA won't rate child restraints based on dynamic performances
Vol. 38, No. 9, September
25, 2003: State legislative update: child restraints
Vol. 38, No. 5, June
11, 2003: LATCH rules are helping, but not solving, child restraint
installation problems; When restrained infants and children die in
crashes, it usually isn't because their restraints failed; Top tethers
on child restraints were used only about half of the time before
LATCH rules and aren't in use more often now
Vol. 38, No. 2, February
8, 2003: Booster seats are the subject of a new federal law that
tells NHTSA to define boosters and set standards
Vol. 37, No. 6, June
8, 2002: HyperG sled acquisition launches new Institute testing
programs
Vol. 37, No. 3, March
16, 2002: Some state licensing and DUI/DWI laws have been strengthened,
but no safety belt laws have been changed to primary
Vol. 36, No. 2, February
17, 2001: First child restraint attachments offered under new
federal requirements don't necessarily secure seats snugly
Vol. 35, No. 10 December
20, 2000: Special issue: state traffic safety laws: includes
information on child restraint use
Vol. 35, No. 4, April 15, 2000:
Durability of child restraints is proven in crash tests conducted at
both high and low speeds; Nonuse of child restraints still is the biggest
threat to safety
Vol. 34, No. 8, October 2, 1999:
Special issue: child safety: Many doctors aren't counseling parents
and other caregivers about child safety in motor vehicles; Lots of
children still ride unrestrained, and too many of them are in front
seats; Restraining older children is the subject of a blue ribbon panel
convened by the US Department of Transportation; School bus safety
is the focus of a two-year research program
Vol. 34, No. 1, January 16, 1999:
Child safety seats will be easier to install under NHTSA's new regulation
calling for uniform attachments; New attachments for child seats; Black
and Hispanic children and teens are at high risk of dying in crashes
Vol. 33, No. 3, April 4, 1998:
Airbag switches sought by people who transport kids in front
Vol. 32, No. 9, November 29, 1997:
Kids safer restrained in back in vehicles with and without passenger
airbags; Child seats soon may be simpler to place in the back due to
fixed attachment points
Advisories
September 2004 NHTSA
shifts policy on child restraint replacement
September 1999 Despite
new California law, no need to replace child seats after most crashes
November 1996 Addressing
the risks from airbag inflation for infants, children, and short drivers
Regulatory comments
Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning occupant crash protection, child restraint systems, and child restraint anchorage systems (Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0149), November 12, 2008
Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning the
extension of FMVSS 213 to restraints recommended for children up to
80 pounds (Docket No. NHTSA-2005-21245), October 31, 2005
Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213; Child Restraint Systems, Side Impact
Protection for Restrained Children (Docket No. NHTSA 02-12151), August
22, 2002
Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning revisions
to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213, Child Restraint Systems
(Docket No. NHTSA 02-11707), July 1, 2002
Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning the
rating program for child restraint systems (Docket No. NHTSA 2001-10053,
Notice 1), January 7, 2002
Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning the
use and effectiveness of child booster seats (Docket No. NHTSA 2001-10359),
September 27, 2001
Testimony
Statement before
the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce, and Tourism
of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Child
restraints and booster seats, Adrian K. Lund, April 24, 2001; attachment: Status
Report, Vol. 35, No. 10, December 20, 2000 |
