According to a broadcast on KYW, my local news station, when the Burlington County, NJ Sheriff's office inspected child safety seat installations, they found only 25 of 6,000 had been installed correctly.

Here's more on what the Sheriff's representative said:

"Jeanne Ondusko is a child seat safety expert with the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department. She says it’s very rare to find a child seat installed properly during safety check:

“The seats are not installed tight enough. They are too loose. The harness straps are not in the proper position, the retainer clips are not in the proper position or the harnesses are not coming out from the proper direction above or below the shoulders for the child.”

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 10:09 am:

I'm not surprised. Sad, isn't it?!

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 10:58 am:

My carseats were always tight! I was fanatical about checking and re-tightening if they loosened! I was always wiggling them to make sure, becuase it sure seemed that they didn't always stay tight.

With LATCH, do carseats stay more secure? My kids were out of carseats, before LATCH.

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 03:11 pm:

LATCH vs. seat belt - Done properly, one method of installation is not safer or more secure than the other.

The problem is the high rate of misuse. Many parents fail to read and follow the directions or blatantly disregard them. Don't get me started. LOL! Argh...

By My2girlygirls on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 03:50 pm:

Hey Trina,
I have a booster seat question. My dd is 8 years old and weighs 63 lbs. She is 4ft. 3 inches tall. The problem that we have is that she is very long bodied and when she is in her booster she sits taller that the headrest at it's tallest. Just the top of her head is above the headrest but still I wouldn't think that is correct. She has a Graco backless Turbo booster seat. What do we do? Is she ready to not be in a booster anymore?

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 04:18 pm:

As long as her ears aren't over the top of the headrest, she's safest in her booster. Your particular booster is good up to 57" and 100 lbs.. We (CPS Techs and safety experts) recommend kids stay in boosters until they are at least 4'9" tall and can pass the test below. Kids who use boosters are up to 60% safer than their peers who ride without them.

The 5-Step Test

1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your child needs a booster seat to make both the shoulder belt and the lap belt fit right for the best crash protection. Your child will be more comfortable, too!

More info:
BoosterSeat.gov

CHOP - CPS
Helpful and informative video clips

Both my kids (8 & 10) mainly ride in high back boosters and will for a long time yet. My oldest (DS) is 10, 80 lbs. and 4'6".

By My2girlygirls on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 09:23 pm:

Thank you so much Trina! I will show this to her and let her read for herself that she is safer in her seat than not. She has given me a little grief over the fact that she is pretty much the last of her group of friends to still be in a booster. I can just tell her that she is 60% safer than her friends! :-) Thank you so much for the information!!!

By Trina~moderator on Monday, September 11, 2006 - 06:20 am:

You're welcome. My DS gave me grief about his booster over a year ago. He's into statistics, so when we reviewed this information together I asked, "60% safer, is that a lot??" He relied, "Well, YES! That's more than half!" I haven't heard a complaint since. Unfortunately, many parents take their kids out of boosters too soon.

By Kaye on Monday, September 11, 2006 - 07:27 pm:

Trina have you ever checked your kids in eve's van? You mentioned that in a post, but I don't recall how long ago it was

By Trina~moderator on Monday, September 11, 2006 - 07:55 pm:

Kaye, I was just thinking about that today. LOL! No, we haven't had a chance to do that yet.

By Hlgmom on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 02:22 pm:

Is there a 5 step test for readiness to move INTO a booster seat- I thought you had posted something before- I tried a search and could not come up with anything! Thanks!

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 02:40 pm:

There isn't a 5 Step Test for readiness to transition into a booster, but there are guidelines. We recommend kids stay in a harnessed car seat until at least 4 yrs. and 40 lbs.. Most kids aren't big enough or mature enough to sit properly in a booster before then. They tend to wiggle and pull the shoulder belt out of place, which would be very dangerous in the event of a crash or hard braking. If a child reaches 40 lbs. and/or outgrows his/her car seat by height before he/she turns 4 there are car seats that harness past 40 lbs. and are designed for bigger/taller kids. I kept my DD in a harnessed car seat until she was 6. She's my busy child and needed that harness! LOL!

By Hlgmom on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 05:16 pm:

Thanks! My friend was asking about her three year old- I just wanted it to come from someonelse!