Booster Seat Use and Misuse
In general, children between the ages of 4 and 8 have usually outgrown a harnessed child restraint, but are not large enough for vehicle safety belts to properly protect them in a crash. Belt-positioning booster seats position the child and guide seat belts to allow the seatbelt to effectively restraint the child. UMTRI researchers have developed several studies to determine the rate of booster seat use by 4- to 8-year-old occupants. These studies have been implemented on both a statewide and local level to evaluate booster-seat intervention activities. UMTRI researchers have also developed new ways of measuring belt fit with and without boosters that are being used to study how vehicle and booster designs can be optimized for rear seat occupants.
Recent Publications
SEE MOREMichelle L. Macy, Gary L. Freed, Matthew P. Reed
journal article PT-142
IN: Traffic injury prevention. Vol. 14, no. 2 (2013), p. 209-214.
Objective: Child restraint systems (CRS) are increasingly being designed to accommodate larger children and to mitigate side impact...
Matthew P. Reed, Sheila M. Ebert-Hamilton, Carol A.C. Flannagan.
report UMTRI-2011-4
In previous work, researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) developed a method for...
Kathleen D. Klinich, Matthew P. Reed, Nicole R. Orton, Miriam A. Manary, Jonathan D. Rupp.
report UMTRI-2011-40
A series of sled tests was conducted to examine the performance of booster seats under belt geometries representing the range found in...
Renee M. St. Louis, Julie E. Parow, David W. Eby, C. Raymond Bingham, Heather M. Hockanson, Arlene I. Greenspan.
journal article IN: Accident Analysis and Prevention. Vol. 40, issue 1 (Jan. 2008), p. 295-302.
This manuscript reports the results of an evaluation of two community-based booster seat promotion programs in Michigan; one program...