The National Transportation Safety Board has conducted studies and issued recommendations to improve transportation safety for children under the age of 20, including

• School Bus Passenger Safety
• Child Safety Seats

Commonly, people believe that school children are not protected during a crash because school buses do not have seat belts. In fact, school buses are designed with a clever occupant protection system that fits both a kindergarten student and a high school senior, without the need for seat belts. This occupant protection system is called compartmentalization:  the seats are strong, closely spaced together, high backed, well padded, and are designed to absorb energy during a crash.  Compartmentalization works best in frontal and rear impact scenarios.

School buses are one of the safest forms of transportation on the road today. An average of only 7 passengers are fatally injured each year as school buses carry over 23.5 million children daily. The Safety Board continues to investigate school bus crashes to ensure that this safety record continues (see links below).

In 1999, the Safety Board conducted a study on Bus Crashworthiness Issues. The conclusions of this study focus on several main issues:

• Occupants in the seating compartment but not in the area of intrusion were less likely to be seriously injured.
• Seatbelts do not prevent injuries in all crash situations and can actually increase injuries with the current school bus seat design.
• An occupant crash protection system should be developed that would protect school bus passengers in most accident scenarios.

Child Passenger Safety
Child deaths in motor vehicle crashes have declined since 1975, but crashes still cause about 1 of every 3 injury deaths among children younger than 13.  Among those 2-12 years old, motor vehicle crash injuries are the leading cause of death.  Most of these deaths occur among children traveling as passenger vehicle occupants, and proper restraint use can reduce these fatalities.  Placing children in rear seats instead of front seats reduces fatal injury risk by about a third among those 12 and younger.

Each year approximately 1,800 children ages 14 and under are killed as occupants in motor vehicles, and more than 280,000 are injured. 

Learn more by clicking the following links:

• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 2004. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. Atlanta, GA  
• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 2003. WISQARS leading cause of death reports, 1999-2003.  Atlanta, GA  
• Reference for more reading on this topic: Braver, E.R.; Whitfield, R.; and Ferguson, S.A. 1998.  Seating positions and children’s risk of dying in motor vehicle crashes.  Injury Prevention 4:181-187

Protecting Your Children the Right Way
Although 96 percent of parents who use child safety seats, booster seats and safety belts to protect their children think they are doing it correctly, check ups continually show that 4 out of 5 unintentionally make mistakes that could result in their child being injured or killed in a crash. 

The National Transportation Safety Board has called upon automakers and others to establish permanent child safety seat fitting stations so that every parent may have every opportunity to be sure that every child is riding safely in every vehicle.  To find a child safety seat fitting station in your area visit www.seatcheck.org    or call 1-866-SEAT CHECK.

The National Transportation Safety Board has also called upon the 50 States to enact laws to require that all children up to 8 years old use child restraint systems and booster seats and that all children age 12 and younger ride in the rear seat.

Today, all 50 States and the District of Columbia have child restraint laws.  However, only 18 States and the District of Columbia require children up to 8 years old to use child restraint systems and boosters seats as recommended.  To find out what your State laws is visit www.usa.safekids.org.   

Use the Correct Child Restraint System for Your Child’s Age and Size

1. Keep your child in a rear-facing seat until your child is at least 1 year old and at least 20 pounds.
2. Use a forward-facing seat with a harness after your child has outgrown their rear-facing seat.  Your child should stay in this seat until they weigh approximately 40 pounds or their ears reach the top of the seat.
3. Use a booster seat when your child has outgrown the forward-facing seat.  Be sure to check the height and weight limits for the seat you own.  Your child needs to use a booster seat from about 4 to 8 years old or until your child reaches about 4 feet, 9 inches.
4. Keep your child in a booster seat until the adult lap-and-shoulder belt fits properly.  The seat belt should lie across the chest between the neck and arm and the lap belt must be across the upper thighs, not the soft stomach.
5. An adult lap-and-shoulder belt can be used when your child is tall enough (usually about 4 feet, 9 inches) to sit against the back of the car’s seat with their legs bent at the knees with their feet hanging down.

For further information concerning child passenger safety, click on the links below

NTSB Safety Recommendations, including:

1. H-96-14 and H-96-16 (October 23, 1996) (PDF, 723 KB)
2. H-97-1 and H-97-2 (July 1, 1997) (PDF, 656 KB)
3. H-99-1 (January 13, 1999) (PDF, 46 KB)
4. H-99-2 (January 13, 1999) (PDF, 38 KB)
5. H-99-3 (January 13, 1999) (PDF, 43 KB)
6. H-99-4 (January 13, 1999) (PDF, 41 KB)

NTSB News and Events, including:

1. Board member and staff remarks
2. Advisories and Press Releases
3. Past Hearings and Board Meetings

 Other Publications, including:

1. Safety Study: The Performance and Use of Child Restraint Systems, Seatbelts, and Air Bags for Children in Passenger Vehicles (PDF, 2.81 MB)
2. Public Forum on Air Bags and Child Passenger Safety (PDF, 4.11 MB)
3. Safety Report:  Putting Children First (PDF, 3.65 MB)

External Links

Additional information from other organizations

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration   
  • Child Passenger Safety Page   
• Seatcheck  
• Safe Kids USA  
  • Safe Kids Worldwide  
• The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Partners for Child Passenger Safety   
• Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety  
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Child Passenger Safety fact Sheet  

  Last updated May 2008

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