Mitsubishi Motors and Kids Safety First, a national non-profit organization, have partnered in an effort to educate parents with children between the ages of 4 and 8 about the important role that booster seats play in preventing injuries, and to encourage parents to keep their children as safe as possible by using them.

Founded by Mitsubishi employees Jorgen Weterrings and PK Shrivastava in 2004, Kids Safety First is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting automotive child safety. The organization is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of booster seats and to educating parents about how these seats can prevent injuries and save children's lives.

What are Booster Seats?

Generally, children between the ages of 4 and 8 are not big enough to properly fit in a vehicle's lap and shoulder belts alone. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that children within this age range, or children less than 4'9" tall who weigh between 35 and 80 lbs., should use a booster seat.

Booster seats raise the child so the vehicle lap and shoulder belt fits well - lap belt should rest low across the pelvis or hip area and the shoulder belt should cross the child's chest and rest snugly on the shoulder. Properly fitting lap and shoulder belts dramatically reduce the potential for belt-induced injury, which can occur when a lap belt is a child's only restraint.

How Effective are Booster Seats?

According to a study by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), children between the ages of 4 and 8 who use booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a car crash than children who are restrained only by a safety belt. The same study found some startling booster seat usage statistics within this age range:

• 16 percent of 4-year-olds
• 13 percent of 5-year-olds
• 4 percent of 6- and 7-year-olds

According to the NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), there were 487 fatalities among child passengers age 4 to 7 in 2005.

Are Booster Seats Commonly Used?

Because many state laws only require children to be in a safety seat up to age 4, many parents assume older kids are safe in just an adult safety belt. According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), booster seat usage is estimated at only 10 to 20 percent nationwide. Some other alarming statistics include:

• According to the 2003 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey, only 21 percent of children ages 5 through 8 use booster seats, while another 19 percent use front-facing child safety seats. It also found that 15 percent of parents had not heard of booster seats.
• As determined at child passenger safety seat inspection stations across the country, more than 81 percent of child restraints are used incorrectly, including 88 percent of forward-facing toddler seats, 86 percent of rear-facing infant seats and 85 percent of safety belts.

What are Mitsubishi and Kids Safety First Doing About This Lack of Awareness?

Mitsubishi Motors North America and Kids Safety First have partnered to educate parents about the importance of placing children between the ages of 4 and 8 in a booster seat. Kids Safety First produces car seat safety materials that are distributed to police departments, community organizations and companies across the country at no cost. Mitsubishi is now working with Kids Safety First to make these materials available to consumers at Mitsubishi dealerships across the country.

Mitsubishi works with local dealerships, police departments and hospitals to conduct community events in select cities to educate parents about the importance of these life-saving car seats. Through these community events and charity donations, Mitsubishi has given away more than 12,000 booster seats.