Good News, Bad News for Older-Child Passengers

The 2003 report from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System includes the following findings; comparisons made are from calendar year 2002 to 2003:

Children Age 4–8 (Booster Seats)

• Overall crash-related fatalities declined by 1.7 percent (from 480 to 472).
  • Passenger vehicle occupant fatalities increased by 4.1 percent (from 318 to 331).
  • Unrestrained fatalities: 49 percent of the 331 children who died (163) were completely unrestrained (a 2-percentage-point decrease from 2002).

Children Age 8–15 (Booster Seats or Safety Belts)

• Overall crash-related fatalities increased by 1.8 percent (from 1,576 to 1,604).
  • Passenger vehicle occupant fatalities decreased by 1.5 percent (from 1,092 to 1,081).
  • Unrestrained fatalities: 61 percent of the 1,081 children who died (663) were completely unrestrained (a 6-percentage-point increase from 2002