Child restraint systems could be causing more severe injuries than seat belts in crashes

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-07-24 01:00

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Kids are required to be in a child restraint system (CRS) when travelling in cars up until they reach a height of 145cm, but international researchers say kids who are getting close to that height might actually suffer more severe injuries in a crash when compared to those wearing seatbelts. The researchers looked into the outcomes of 6,503 kids who were involved in motor vehicle crashes, and say that the kids who were in a CRS and between 110cm and 140cm tall had a lower prevalence of abdominal injuries after the crash; however, they had a higher frequency of serious spinal and thoracic injuries, compared with kids who were in seat belts.

News release

From: JAMA

Children’s Height and Injury Risk With Child Restraint Systems

Is children’s height associated with variations in injury patterns among those using child restraint systems (CRSs) or seat belts (SBs)?In this cohort study of 6503 children involved in motor vehicle crashes and evaluated at trauma centers, CRS use was associated with a lower prevalence of abdominal injuries in children measuring 110 to 140 cm; however, these children had a higher frequency of serious spinal and thoracic injuries compared with SB users.These findings suggest a nonlinear association between pediatric stature and injury anatomy.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Jen-Ai Hospital, Taiwan

Funder: Jhih-Ming Tang received grant JMRPGJQ0171 from Jen-Ai Hospital, the Jen-Ai Medical Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C., to access the dataset and conduct the analysis.

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