2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey; Volume 3: Child Passenger Safety Report

Martin, Kelly; Block, Alan W. · 2020 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report presents findings from the 2016 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey (MVOSS), specifically focusing on child passenger safety. Conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and ICF Macro International Inc., the study aims to provide nationally representative estimates of self-reported behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge regarding child car seat use among U.S. adults aged 18 and older. The research addresses key areas including restraint usage frequency, car seat acquisition and registration, installation practices, and sources of safety information. The survey was part of a larger series conducted periodically since 1994, with this volume serving as the third in a four-part report series. The methodology employed address-based sampling with a multi-mode administration (web and mail), discontinuing telephone surveys used in previous years. Data collection occurred between June 2016 and February 2017, yielding 5,410 completed responses for Version B, which focused on child safety. The analysis centers on a "caregiver" subgroup defined as respondents who drove children aged 0–12 at least occasionally in the past year. This subgroup included 2,086 respondents, further divided into those driving children in their household or relatives (1,086 respondents) and those driving children not in their household (1,733 respondents). The report notes potential limitations, including a 24% response rate for Version B and large standard errors for small subgroups, cautioning against over-interpreting non-significant trends. Key findings indicate that 90% of drivers transporting children outside their households reported using car seats, booster seats, or seat belts "all of the time." Among caregivers driving children in their household or relatives, 61% reported using car seats or boosters "all of the time," while 32% reported the child never rode in one. Regarding seat types, 47% used front-facing harness seats, 32% used booster seats, and 21% used rear-facing seats. Most caregivers (92%) acquired seats new, primarily through purchase (84%). However, registration rates were low; only 55% of caregivers registered their seats, with 25% citing financial incentives as a potential motivator for registration. For installation, 79% learned via instructions, which 86% had read and found easy to understand. While 82% felt confident in their installation, 16% reported children escaping seats while driving, and 25% had discovered insecure attachments after driving. Primary information sources included police/law enforcement (51%) and medical professionals (48%). The significance of this report lies in its provision of updated, nationally representative data on child passenger safety behaviors, highlighting gaps in registration and occasional non-use despite high reported compliance. The findings suggest that while most caregivers are confident in their installation methods and acquire seats new, barriers to registration persist. The shift in methodology from telephone to web/mail and the expansion of the caregiver age range to include children up to 12 years old necessitate caution when comparing these results to historical data. The report serves as a critical resource for policymakers and safety advocates to identify areas for intervention, such as improving registration processes and addressing the subset of caregivers who do not consistently use restraints.

Key finding

90% of caregivers driving children outside their households always used car seats, boosters, or seat belts, while 61% of caregivers driving children in their households or relatives always used these restraints.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 5410

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