2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey: Volume 5: Child Safety Seat Report

Boyle, John M.; Lampkin, Cheryl · 2009 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Behavioral Safety Research

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Summary

This report presents findings from the 2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey (MVOSS), the sixth in a series of national telephone surveys conducted for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The study aims to assess child occupant protection, specifically focusing on seating positions, child restraint use, installation practices, and public attitudes toward enforcement. Data were collected between January and April 2007 from a randomly selected national sample of approximately 6,000 individuals aged 16 and older, with younger respondents oversampled. The survey reveals that most children aged 12 and younger typically ride in the back seat, with 74% of drivers reporting their youngest child never rode in the front seat in the past 30 days. Among parents and caregivers of children under nine, 77% reported using a child car seat "all the time," while 17% never used one, usually because the child had transitioned to seat belts. However, improper seat belt usage was prevalent among those not using car seats; 23% of children had the shoulder belt cut across their face or neck, and another 23% placed it behind their back. Booster seat usage among children aged 4 to 8 was low, with only 40% using them, despite 92% of caregivers being aware of their existence. Concerns about booster seat safety, such as instability, were cited by 17% of aware caregivers. Regarding installation and equipment, 94% of car seats were acquired new, and 97% of parents placed them in the back seat. While 60% of caregivers found attaching the seat easy, 24% had previously discovered a seat was not securely attached. Awareness of the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system stood at 39%, with 66% of those aware having used it. Most caregivers (87%) still used vehicle seat belts for infant or toddler seats, though 71% of those with front-facing toddler seats used upper tethers. Approximately 26% of caregivers utilized inspection stations, where technicians frequently suggested tightening the securing seat belt. Longitudinal trends from 1994 to 2007 indicate significant improvements in safety behaviors. The proportion of children riding in the front seat dropped from 30% in 1998 to 14% in 2007, and the percentage of car seats placed in the back seat rose from 78% to 97%. Public support for strict enforcement of child restraint laws remained high, with 56% favoring tickets at every opportunity and 95% supporting legal requirements for seat belt use once children outgrow car seats. The report concludes that while compliance with back-seat riding and car seat use has improved, gaps remain in booster seat adoption and proper seat belt fit for older children.

Key finding

77% of children under age 9 used car seats all the time, but only 40% of children aged 4 through 8 used booster seats.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 6000

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• child passenger safety
• seat belt use

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence