Compared to non-Hispanic children as a group, Hispanic children 1 to 12 years old have significantly lower restraint use rates (use of front-facing child safety seats, booster seats, and seat belts). This result is from the National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats (NSUBS), the only probability-based nationwide child restraint survey that observes restraint use and collects race and ethnicity. The NSUBS is conducted by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Other findings from the 2008 survey include the following: * Although the pattern of use rates by race and ethnicity varied somewhat among the survey’s age groups (birth-12 months, 1-3 years, 4-7 years, and 8-12 years), use rates tended to be highest among White and Asian non-Hispanic children and lowest among African-American non-Hispanic children. * The use for African-American children ages 4 to 7 increased from 73 percent in 2007 to 84 percent in 2008, and this increase is statistically significant. * The restraint use rates among boys and girls are not statistically different. (Author/publisher)
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