The use of car seats and boosters for children has fallen, according to new research released before National Child Passenger Safety Week.

The AAA study of federal crash data uncovered the practice of letting children ride without the safety seating starting at age 3.

“This is alarming, given that more than 100,000 children were injured in car crashes in 2022 alone,” the motor club federation said in a press release on the findings.

It cited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics on child traffic fatalities that show 37% of children 7 to 11 who died in car crashes were riding with no restraints at all. Twenty-six percent of those 3 and younger were unrestrained.

AAA is teaming with the National Safety Council the week of Sept. 15 to promote use of child seats and boosters.

The group said that based on the National Digital Car Seat Check Form database, 74% of child car seats inspected last year weren’t properly installed or used. In the four years ending in 2022, it said more than four million children 11 and younger were in vehicle collisions that resulted in almost 3,000 fatalities.

AAA pointed to U.S. transportation department data that show child restraints reduce fatalities by 71% for children younger than 1 and by 54% for those 1 to 4. It said the three most common restraint misfittings are car seats installed too loosely; failure to use the tether for a forward-facing car seat; and loosely securing car seat harnesses.

“Just like new shoes and clothes, a growing child requires seat adjustments,” said AAA Traffic Safety and Advocacy Manager Rhonda Shah.

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