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Car Seats Save Children’s Lives in Texas

Study after study has shown the effectiveness of car seats in preventing serious injuries among children involved in car crashes.  A recent study that spanned a full decade even showed that the use of car seats has actually gone up, which has consequently saved countless lives of young children.

The Partners for Child Passenger Safety study of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm analyzed insurance claims from 1998 to 2007 and the results from phone surveys on more than 875,000 children in accidents.  The findings of the study were encouraging.  According to researchers, the overall use of car seats among children 8 and younger increased to 80 percent in 2007 from 51 percent 8 years earlier.

The study also found that many children were being placed in booster seats, which help lower the risk of a child suffering serious injuries in a car accident.  A previous study showed that the use of boosters lowered crash injury risk by 59 percent for 4 to 7 year-olds.  A booster seat helps elevate a child so that the lap and shoulder belt fit properly.  Even though booster seats help avoid child injuries in a car accident, the state of Texas has one of the lowest booster seat usage rates in the United States.  Many believe that parents aren’t using booster seats in Texas because the state does not have booster seat laws.

According to the Partners for Child Passenger study, the majority of car crashes involving children happen within 20 minutes of home and 60 percent of accidents occur within 10 minutes of home.

The article, “Use of Car Seats has Gone Up,” has more information on this topic.

If your child has been injured in a Texas car accident, contact Steve Lee, a knowledgeable Texas car crash lawyer, at 800-232-3711 or 713-921-4171.