WHY PARENTS DO NOT PROVIDE AUTOMOBILE RESTRAINTS FOR THEIR CHILDREN

If children in cars were adequately restrained many deaths and injuries would be prevented. Currently in New Zealand only 17 per cent of children 0-8 years are appropriately restrained. Questionnaires about child car restraints were completed by 3,288 mothers who had a child 0 to 8 years of age. Eighty-six per cent of the mothers drove at least twice a week while the child was with them. Overall, 52 per cent claimed to always or usually use some form of approved child car restraint. The numbers varied with the age of the child. The reasons parents gave for not using a child car restraint could be placed in 2 groups - those which could be changed through altering public attitudes (58 per cent), and those which suggest a need for co-operation between government, car manufacturers and car seat manufacturers (42 per cent). A significant association was found between people who claimed to use restraints and those who favoured the compulsory use of restraints. (Author/TRRL)

• Corporate Authors:

  Australian College of Paediatrics

  Editorial Office, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road
  Parkville, Victoria  Australia 
• Authors:
  • Geddis, D C
  • Spears, G F
• Publication Date: 1980-6

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 114-116
• Serial:
  • Australian Paediatric Journal
  • Volume: 16
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Royal Children's Hospital

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Child restraint systems; Children; Families; Infants; Interviewing; Laws; Manual safety belts; Passive restraint systems; Questionnaires; Utilization
• Uncontrolled Terms: Use
• Geographic Terms: New Zealand
• ITRD Terms: 2267: Attitude (psychol); 1758: Child; 1768: Infant; 9147: Interview; 8079: New Zealand; 1466: Passive safety system; 1476: Safety belt; 9084: Use
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00361638
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ITRD, TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 30 1982 12:00AM