Booster seats are necessary for optimal protection

Papers p 1123

The article by Halman et al (p 1123) in this issue indicates that children of school age involved in motor vehicle crashes were less severely injured if they were wearing a seat belt, irrespective of the type of restraint or seating position in the motor vehicle.1 The authors report that school age children (4-14 years old) restrained with a seat belt were 2-10 times as safe as unbelted children and were at least as well protected as adults wearing seat belts. The findings, however, do not answer the question about whether the degree of protection afforded children by standard seat belts is sufficient, according to the authors' discussion of the limitations of the data. The national safe kids campaign in the United States and the child passenger safety community recommend that children be protected in an appropriate child restraint or booster seat rather than in a safety …