Samenvatting
The effectiveness of a vehicle restraint system (e.g., child safety seat, lap and/or shoulder belts) measures the protection provided by that restraint use in preventing a traffic fatality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has calculated estimates for the effectiveness of various restraint systems through analyses of data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). These effectiveness estimates are used in this note to calculate the number of infant and toddler lives saved in 2003 through the use of child safety seats and lap and/or shoulder belts in passenger cars, and light trucks and vans (LTVs). The note describes the methodology, including a slight change, used to make the calculations.