Clear Impact logo

Car Seats

Misuse rate of child restraint in Vermont

Current Value

80

HY2 2014

Definition

Line Bar

Story Behind the Curve

Last Updated: November 2016

Author: Injury Prevention Program Team, Vermont Department of Health

The term misuse in child restraints is not standardized nationally. States use a variety of inspection forms for data collection and define misuse based on data collected on those forms. In Vermont, we have traditionally defined misuse as any error to the installation or use of the car seat, including non-use.

Partners

Vermont Governor's Highway Safety program (GHSP)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Vermont EMS, Fire, law enforcement agencies

Vermont hospitals

Other community organizations

What Works

Evidence based strategies to increase proper, safe child restraint use include:

  • Child safety seat distribution and education in which free or low-cost seats are distributed to parents
  • Community-wide information and enhanced enforcement campaigns that utilize mass media and high visibility enforcement strategies to convince parents to use child safety seats
  • Provide mobile fitting stations and car seat inspection stations to ensure that child safety seats are correctly installed
  • Proper installation and use of booster seats, including education on height and age recommendations and proper seat belt fit
  • Proper installation and use of child safety seats
  • Communications and outreach efforts focused on moving from child safety seat to booster seat to seat belt to reduce premature graduation of children ages 0-12 to restraints that are inappropriate for their height and weight
  • Safety seat education that is provided by physicians and other health care professionals in clinical settings
  • Increase the number of certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians

Action Plan

Vermont is in the process of moving from a state specific paper based inspection form to a more standard SafeKids Worldwide scantron form. The misuse rate calculated from these forms will be able to be compared to other states using the form. There is a push nationally for all states to move to this form. Misuse rates may change dramatically based on the use of a new standardized criteria. The data from pre 2015 will not be comparable to post 2015 and in fact 2015-2016 data will be a mix of both inspection form calculations and should not be used as an accurate measurement of child restraint use in Vermont.

In addition to moving towards a standardized electronic inspection form, Vermont will be implementing an annual car seat observation study similar to the existing Vermont Seat Belt Study.

Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.

Scorecard Container Measure Action Actual Value Target Value Tag S A m/d/yy m/d/yyyy