France: study reveals critical gaps in child restraint use

New research from France highlights a persistent and worrying safety gap: nearly two out of three children are still not properly secured in vehicles. The OURSE study (Observing Child Safety on the Roads), conducted by the Prévention Routière association in partnership with CEESAR and LAB, warns that despite recent progress, installation errors remain a major threat to young passengers.

According to the French road safety observatory, road collisions claimed the lives of 46 children in 2024 – nearly one every week – with half of these fatalities occurring while the child was a passenger in a car. The study’s field observations of 301 children revealed that while 89% of children under ten now use a car seat, a staggering 62% are incorrectly restrained.

The research identified several common and dangerous errors:

• Incorrect harness adjustment: Issues with both position and tension.
• Loose or twisted seat belts: Preventing the restraint from functioning as intended.
• Improper ISOFIX use: Including the failure to install the critical third anchorage point.

Crucially, 78% of parents surveyed believed their child was correctly secured, yet 59% of those children were actually at risk due to installation mistakes. An analysis of fatal crashes between 2021 and 2023 further underscored this danger, showing that 46% of children killed were either improperly secured or using unsuitable restraints. Experts estimate that proper installation could have reduced injury severity for one in every two children.