The Efficacy of Booster Seat Laws in Reducing Injury and Mortality Estimating the Effects on Children and Testing for Compensating Behavior

Motor vehicle accidents have been the leading cause of death for children and youth for decades. Booster seats are designed to better protect children four to eight years old in the event of an accident, and over the past decade, forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have passed laws mandating their use. In this paper I estimate the effect that booster seat laws have on reducing injury and mortality among fiveto eightyear-old children, using data from the WISQARS cause of death database for the years 1999 to 2007 as well as from FARS fatal crashes database from 1994 to 2009. In addition to estimating the direct effect on children, I also test for compensating behavior among older age groups, who may change their behavior due to the perception of diminished risk to their children while driving. My findings indicate that there is a nearly 25% decrease in mortality among six-year-olds covered by booster seat laws, but that there is no statistically significant effect on five-, seven-, or eight-year-old mortalities. I also find that there is evidence of compensating behavior among older drivers, and that the estimated total increase in deaths among older drivers exceeds the number of lives saved among children.