Deaths caused by improper installation/use vs. those caused by defects

soulbarn · Oct 6, 2011

I'm working on a paper about car seat safety, and i'm wondering if anyone knows of a source for statistics on how many deaths/injuries related to car seat failure are caused by improper installation/use as opposed to actual product defects. I know that there's probably some blurry areas, but if anyone could point me toward some statistics, I'd be grateful. General comments on the topic are also welcome; I'd love to hear the thoughts of users and experts.

thanks!

henrietta · Oct 6, 2011

I'm sure someone here has actual links, but considering that over 90% of carseats are installed incorrectly and/or used incorrectly VS. carseats are tested, have to meet standards, and are recalled as needed, I'd say that way more injuries are related to improper use.

If there were one brand/make/model that was routinely defective and never recalled causing injuries over and over, I think we'd start hearing about it. I know that's not always true, b/c responders may not know what kind of seat it is and whether it was used correctly or not...but I'd bet that for the parents who ARE using them correctly, they would know they had them in right and would be calling it to the public's attention if their child were seriously injured in a crash that they did NOT expect severe injuries in.

hths

Good luck w/your paper!

henrietta

monica-m · Oct 6, 2011

Safe Kids recently released a study about misuse. You should be able to find it in pdf form on their website www.safekids.org . I think you will find a wealth of information there about misuse rates.

LISmama810 · Oct 6, 2011

I'm not sure there's much out there.

Yes, there are studies on misuse, but misuse doesn't automatically equal death or injury. Kids are likely spared death or serious injury every day even in misused seats.

Conversely, children can die or be injured even in properly used seats.

To complicate matters further, it's often hard (or impossible) to determine misuse after the fact. Seatbelts and LATCH straps are designed to stretch in a crash, so even a seat that had been used correctly can appear afterwards to have not been properly installed.

Deaths caused by improper installation/use vs. those caused by defects

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