Booster seats significantly reduce the chance of a four to eight year old child sustaining serious injury in a car crash, but many children do not use them. Programs that aim to increase use by educating people, giving away free booster seats, or combining the two do increase use.
According to the WHO, road traffic crashes kill 1.18 million people each year, and disable or injure a further 50 million. Without a concerted drive to implement safety measures they could become the world’s third greatest cause of disability by 2020.
Booster seats are one simple measure that substantially increases the safety of children travelling in cars. The problem is that when children reach about 18 kg they outgrow toddler-sized safety seats, but are still too small to fit properly into an adult seat belt. A booster seat is designed to raise the child off the seat so that the shoulder strap comes across their chest and not across their necks.
Recommendations suggest that booster seats should be used until the child weighs 36kg, is eight years old, or reaches a height of 150 cm tall.
Some socially minded governments or local health departments might decide to fund booster seat distribution or coupons, but few governments in poorer countries are likely to be able to get free booster seats to all deserving families.