The September 2022 Issue of Nevada’s Traffic Research and Education Newsletter (TREND) includes a descriptive analysis of child passenger safety citations.
September was National Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Month, which offered an opportunity for parents and guardians to make sure they are up to date on Nevada’s CPS law, as well as to conduct an annual check that their child is using the correct restraint for their age, height, and weight. In 2020, there were 656 deaths of child occupants between the ages of 0-12 years in motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. [1].
Appropriately selected and installed Child Restraint Systems (CRS) can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71% [2]. According to the National Highway Safety Association (NHTSA), many kids 8 to 12 years old still need to use a booster seat [2]. It is important to make sure they ride in a booster seat until they outgrow the size limits of their booster, or until they are big enough for an adult seat belt to fit them properly. Appropriate progression from one CRS to the next is based on the child’s age, weight, height, and product manufacturer limits to ensure restraint effectiveness in the event of a motor vehicle crash.
According to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, 7 out of 10 child safety seats are installed improperly, which is why it is important to be up to date on manufacturer recalls and inspection (see page 3 for inspection site resources near you) [3]. This TREND in Focus analysis investigates the prevalence and demographics of Nevada drivers who were cited for CPS-related violations from 2018-2021 (N=2,265).
For additional details, we encourage you to explore the full newsletter at the following link: TREND 11.4 and the simplified visualization of this analysis in Infographic 5.4.
