Canadian National Survey on Child Restraint Use 2010

Completed for Transport Canada, in partnership with AUTO21

Authors:

Dr. Anne W. Snowdon
Odette School of Business,
University of Windsor
AUTO21 Theme A Coordinator: Automotive Health and Safety

Dr. Abdulkadir Hussein
Mathematics and Statistics
University of Windsor

Dr. Ejaz Ahmed
Mathematics and Statistics
University of Windsor

 

 

1. Introduction

 

 

The current study reports on the findings of the national child seat survey conducted in May to October, 2010. This study was a follow up to the 2006 national child seat survey submitted to Transport Canada in 2007. In our previous (2006) technical report on Canadian National Survey on Child Restraint Use (2007), we found that although most drivers used some type of safety restraint system, the rate of correct use of safety seats varied among different age groups. The highest rate of correct use was found to be 67% in children 1 to 3 years of age and the lowest rate was in 1 to 4 year olds who used booster seats approximately 20% of the time travelling in vehicles. Our previous report also showed that, Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan had higher rates of correct use of child safety seats compared with Manitoba, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. [1]

In the 2006 study we relied on both observational and interview data collection (i.e., a detailed Parking Lot Survey) method to assess children’s use of child safety seats in vehicles and to document parent’s knowledge and awareness of correct use of safety seats for their children. The parking lot study resulted in a high rate of refusal to participate in the parking lot survey. Nonparticipants were predominantly drivers with high rates of non-use or incorrect use of child safety seats. Statistical techniques were used to examine the rates of correct use while accommodating the potential bias due to non-response. [2] Limitations of the 2006 survey also included the failed data collection in the Northwest and Yukon Territories due to weather conditions and lack of accessibility. [2]

For the 2010 report, we have achieved a more representative sample for data collection outcomes. All provinces and territories were included in the 2010 study with the exception of Nunavut, whereby no intersections were included from this territory in the sampling frame. The parking lot survey and interview was not included in this study due to the high rates of non-participation in 2006. The objective of this study was to achieve a representative observational study, using naturalistic observation of vehicles at 196 randomly selected intersections across Canada of child occupant status in every province and territory. Our objective was fully and completely accomplished and the following report documents the outcomes of this study.

 

 

How to get the full report:

 

 

You may download the full report  Canadian National Survey on Child Restraint Use 2010 in Portable Document Format (PDF) (165 KB).

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