Vehicle crashes are the leading safety issue facing children, with approximately 183,000 children injured in 2018, or more than 500 injuries per day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

During National Child Passenger Safety Week, AAA and the National Safety Council are sharing new research that sheds light on the extent to which parents and caregivers in the U.S. are informed about car seat installation and use.

According to the National Digital Car Seat Check Form database, more than half of all car seats brought in for inspection to child passenger safety technicians are improperly installed and used. Yet the general consumer survey revealed only 1 in 5 parents and caregivers seek expert help installing a car seat or securing a child in a car seat.

Data from the NDCF database also revealed —

— Three common installation mistakes: Having the car seat be too loose, failing to use the tether when installing a forward-facing car seat with either the lower anchors or seat belt and leaving harness straps too loose when securing a child in a car seat.

— Children are often transitioned out of the appropriate car seats before it is safe to do so. More than a quarter of children are moved from forward-facing car seats to booster seats too soon, and more than 90% of children using lap-and-shoulder seat belts under the age of 10 should still be in a car seat or booster seat.

— Parents and caregivers are less likely to seek car seat inspections as children grow into forward-facing and booster car seats. Child passenger safety technicians inspect about four times the amount of rear-facing car seats than they do forward-facing car seats, and 73% of forward-facing seats are not correctly installed.

AAA urges parents to get a car seat inspection so they can have confidence knowing that their child passenger is protected.