Impact of adult safety-belt use on restraint use among children < 11 years of age--selected states, 1988 and 1989.

Motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children and young adults in the United States and account for more than 1 million years of potential life lost before age 65 annually (1). Child safety seats and safety belts can substantially reduce this loss (2). From 1977 through 1985, all 50 states passed legislation requiring the use of child safety seats or safety belts for children. Although these laws reduce injuries to young children by an estimated 8%-59% (3,4), motor-vehicle crash-related injuries remain a major cause of disability and death among U.S. children (1), while the use of occupant restraints among children decreases inversely with age (84% usage for those aged 0-4 years; 57%, aged 5-11 years; and 29%, aged 12-18 years) (5). In addition, parents who do not use safety belts themselves are less likely to use restraints for their children (6). To characterize the association between adult safety-belt use and adult-reported consistent use of occupant restraints for the youngest child aged < 11 years within a household, CDC analyzed data obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) during 1988 and 1989. This report summarizes the findings from this study.