Child Car Seat Misuse Rose 10% Nationally in 2025, New Study Reveals

Child car seats save lives when properly installed. But a new report indicates that many well-meaning parents may be putting their small children at risk by improperly installing a car seat or moving them to a booster or out of a safety seat altogether before it’s safe to do so.

AAA analyzed National Digital Car Seat Check Form (NDCF) data and found that nearly 87% of children transitioned from a safety seat to an adult seat too soon. And nearly 74% of inspected car seats were improperly installed, AAA reported. That’s approximately a 10% increase from 2024, when inspectors found 67% were improperly installed.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children between 1 and 13 years old, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. Putting an infant in a car seat reduces fatality risks by 71% in cars and 58% in light trucks, the NHTSA estimates. For toddlers, car seats cut risks by 54% in cars and 59% in trucks.

Safety seat use falls with child age

Many parents are moving their children out of age-appropriate car seats too soon, AAA’s study also found.

Every state and Washington, D.C., requires infants, toddlers, and small children to ride in safety seats, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Requirements vary, but they usually depend on a child’s age, weight, and height.

Data shows that between 2020 and 2024, 78% of 3-year-olds rode in child safety seats or booster seats, according to AAA’s report. That percentage plummets to 45% by age 6. A 10% drop in use occurs between ages 3 and 4.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that infants and toddlers remain in rear-facing car seats for as long as possible, until they grow too tall or heavy to safely fit in the seat. Kids who outgrow rear-facing and forward-facing child seats can transition to a booster in the back seat until the vehicle’s factory-installed seat belt fits them properly. That’s typically when they’ve reached 4 feet, 9 inches tall and are between ages 8 and 12.

The AAP also recommends that all children younger than 13 ride in the back seat.

Common car seat mistakes parents should be aware of

Using data from the NDCF database, which records car seat checks by qualified technicians throughout the U.S., the report identified common car seat mistakes. Errors include securing the seat too loosely in a vehicle, skipping the use of a tether on forward-facing car seats, and a harness that’s too loose on the child.

The report also points to moving children out of safety seats too soon — 19% move to a booster too soon, and nearly 87% transitioned to adult seat belts too early.

Finally, the report noted that some parents who did a good job of securing their infant safely grow less vigilant as their child gets older. Child passenger safety technicians checked five times as many rear-facing infant seats as forward-facing in 2025, and parents weren’t using 83% of forward-facing seats correctly.

What’s next: How parents can protect their children on the road

When used properly, child safety seats can help protect children from serious injury or even death. In fact, NHTSA estimates that car seats have saved more than 11,600 children younger than 5 since 1975.

Parents can protect their children while riding in motor vehicles by:

• Ensuring they’ve properly installed their child’s infant or booster seat. The National Child Passenger Safety Board provides resources to find qualified installation guidance in every state.

• Follow AAP or your state’s guidelines on when to move children from rear-facing to forward-facing seats, when to begin using a booster, and when children are ready to use adult seat belts.

• Use a top tether strap for forward-facing seats.

• Regularly check the fit of your child’s safety harness (in an infant seat) and the vehicle seat belt when using a booster seat.

• Keep children younger than 13 in the rear seat.

Parents should also be aware that car insurance claims can get complicated if improper use or installation of a car seat causes or contributes to a child’s injury in a vehicle accident, insurance experts say.

“The insurance company of a driver who hits you could argue that failure to correctly use the seat caused or worsened an injury,” said Matt Brannon, Insurify’s senior economic analyst and a licensed insurance agent. “That could reduce, or make it harder to recover, financial damages from the accident to pay for medical costs. And if your child is hurt in a crash, the last thing you want to have to worry about is whether car insurance will help pay for their treatment.”

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