In the Netherlands, the use of child restraint seats in cars is mandatory for children up to 135 cm in height. In 2018, research by VeiligheidNL (SafetyNL) among 470 children aged 0-8 showed that 83% of the children were not appropriately transported by car: meaning they were not correctly restrained in a child restraint seat or even that these seats were not at all used for children smaller than 135 cm [13]. Of the seats used, 7% did not have the correct size (too big or too small) and 49% had not been correctly installed. 59% of the children were not properly restrained in their seats.
Unsecure fastening of child restraint seats may reduce their effectiveness and thus lead to an increased injury risk in crashes [15] [18] [19] [20]. Belgian research showed, for instance, that for a third of the children transported in a safety system, the effectiveness of the system was seriously diminished or even no longer existent [15].
