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Safe Young Drivers could consider car seats

Wed, 07 Jun 2006

Young Drivers with children should consider using car seats rather than conventional seatbelts to reduce the risk of death in an accident.

Researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have found that if children between the ages of two and six are secured in car safety seats they are 28 per cent more likely to survive a serious collision than if they were sitting on a booster chair buckled in a seatbelt.

Even in cases where child safety seats were not used properly, for example when they were not attached to the vehicle's seat properly or the harness was not secured correctly, the risk of death was reduced by 21 per cent.

"Child restraint systems offer improved fit of restraints for children who are too small for the adult-sized seat belt, thereby affording a mechanical protection advantage over seat belts," the researchers said.

They add that every effort should be made to promote the use of child safety seats through improved laws and educational programs.

The findings should be of considerable interest to Young Drivers with children, who are far more likely to have a serious accident than older motorists.

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