Researchers have found that children younger than 3 years old were 43 percent less likely to be injured when their seat was fastened in the centre of the back seat rather than one of the side seats. -- PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

In a study of car crash data from 16 US states, researchers found that children younger than 3 years old were 43 percent less likely to be injured when their seat was fastened in the centre of the back seat rather than one of the side seats.

Experts already recommend that parents position car seats in the centre of the rear seat, and the current findings bolster that advice, according to Dr Michael J. Kallan and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, only 28 per cent of children in their study were sitting in that position at the time of the car accident, the researchers report in the journal Paediatrics.

There are obstacles to placing a car seat in the centre position, Dr Kallan's team acknowledges.

It is physically harder to strap a child, especially a heavier child, into a centre-positioned seat. A centred child seat can also make it difficult for other people to sit in the rear of the car.

But based on the current findings, the researchers write, this centre position is the safest place for babies and toddlers to ride.

The results are based on data from 4,790 car crashes involving children ages 3 and younger that occurred between 1998 and 2006.

At the time of the accident, 41 per cent of the children were in a car seat positioned in the right-hand back seat, while 31 per cent were in the left-hand seat. The centre position was the least popular, but the safest.

The reason, in part, was that children in a centred seat were better protected during a side-impact crash, according to Dr Kallan's team.

'Recommendations should continue to encourage families to install child-restraint systems in the centre of the rear seat,' the researchers conclude. - REUTERS