Study: Booster seats ignored in other cars

Most U.S. parents place their children in a booster seat when driving their own car, but many don't in a car with another driver, a new study indicates.

Researchers at University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital found that more than 30 percent of parents don't require their children to use a booster seat when they carpool, and 45 percent don't make their children use a booster seat when with kids who don't have one.

The study appeared online Monday ahead of print in the journal Pediatrics.

"The majority of parents reported that their children between the ages of 4 and 8 use a safety seat when riding in the family car," Dr. Michelle Macy, a clinical lecturer of emergency medicine and a pediatrician at Mott Children's Hospital, said.

"However, it's alarming to know that close to 70 percent of parents carpool, and when they do, they're often failing to use life-saving booster seats." -- HealthDay