In May, NHTSA issued a report titled Child Passenger Safety State of Knowledge: A Literature Review. The nearly 100-page document summarizes CPS by reviewing the behavioral research (literature) on this topic published between 2000 and 2022.
The review provides information about the current state of CPS, starting with an introduction that gives a broad history of CPS, followed by dedicated chapters on the following topics:
- Nonuse
- Misuse
- Education and Outreach
- State Laws and Enforcement
- Communities with Lower CR Use
Some key findings include that children tend to be very well protected as infants and less protected as they get older, and that CR nonuse and misuse are more common in old cars, on short trips, during uncommon trip types (like carpools), where laws are lax, and when the driver is in a lower income bracket, Black, or from a rural area. While few of these findings will surprise CPSTs, the report’s 20+ page list of citations is a helpful resource for CPSTs looking for the science behind these findings.
The review also noted gaps in the literature, stating that further study is needed on the topics of enforcement of CPS laws, children who have transitioned out of booster seats, ways to improve tether use rates, and effective ways to encourage CR use in locations where use rates are low.