When choosing a child car seat, most of parents pay attention to the quality certificate; they think that such devices should be certified.
MOSCOW, February 13, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of the survey concerning the safety of children travelling in vehicles: what child restraint devices parents choose, and what the devices should be equipped with.
Child restraint system is used by 88% of parents who have children aged 11 years and who live in big cities. The share of such respondents is lower among those who use their car one or two times per month (80%). Six percent of respondents use these systems from time to time.
An overwhelming majority of Russians (84%) buy a child restraint system because they want to provide security to children. Only a small part of Russians say that they do this not to break the law (8%) or not to pay a fine (8%).
The most popular device is child car seat (75%). Every third (32%) uses child seat belt adjuster; every fourth (25%) uses a booster seat. Least popular device is infant car seat (17%).
Only 34% of Russians are aware that the belt adjuster does not conform to the international standards (parents of children aged 3-4 years know about it better than others – 41%); 66% know nothing about that.
When choosing a child car seat, most of Russians pay attention to certificate (73%). Affordable price is important for 18% of parents. Design is attracted by 5%, and the country of origin is of interest for 1% of parents. Warranty period, safety instructions and comfort are not important at all; none of respondents chose these options.
Ninety-three percent of respondents think that the certification of child car seats is necessary. Three-quarters (74%) think that the certification must be carried out by special centers. Every seventh (14%) believes that the devices should be certified by designated centers of the country of origin. And only 5% of Russians think this should be done by Russian designated commercial centers.
Most of respondents (75%) think that it is the parents` responsibility to install child car seat. Less popular answers are service stations (7%), sellers (3%), and traffic police staff (2%). One-tenth of respondents (9%) do not pay attention to this question.
According to parents, the best way to provide security to children travelling in a vehicle is to use a child car seat (4.1 scores out of 5 possible on a security scale). Using a normal belt adjuster is more dangerous for a child: security score is equal to 2.5 out of 5, if extra safety equipment is used, and is equal to 2.3, if it is not used. At the same time, a real threat comes from the parents who carry the child in their arms while traveling in a vehicle (1.7), and particularly if the child remains unfastened in a car (1.2).
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted in November 2014. One thousand respondents having children aged 1-11 years were interviewed in the cities with intense traffic. The margin of error does not exceed 3%.
Do you use the child car seat when traveling in vehicles with children? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |||||
| Total respondents | Traveling in the car one or two times per month or rarer | Traveling in the car one or two times per week | Traveling in the car three or four times per week | Traveling in the car almost every day |
Yes, always | 88 | 80 | 90 | 86 | 88 |
Yes, sometimes | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
I used to do it before when the child was smaller | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
No, I do not use it | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Don`t know | - | - | - | - | - |
What is the main reason why you bought the child car seat? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who use the child car seat when travelling in a vehicle with children) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Parents of children under age 2 | Parents of children under age 2-4 | Parents of children under age 5-6 | Parents of children under age 7-8 | Parents of children under age 9-11 |
I want to secure the child | 84 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 81 | 81 |
I do not want to break the law | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
I do not want to pay a fine | 8 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 11 |
Other | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Don`t know | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Which of the following devices do you use when traveling in a car with your children? (closed-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who use the child car seat when travelling in a vehicle with children) | |||
| Total respondents | Men | Women |
Child car seat | 75 | 73 | 77 |
Child seat belt adjuster | 32 | 36 | 28 |
Booster seat | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Infant car seat | 17 | 15 | 19 |
Do you know that belt adjusters do not conform to the international child restraint standards? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who use child restraint devices) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Parents of children under age 2 | Parents of children under age 2-4 | Parents of children under age 5-6 | Parents of children under age 7-8 | Parents of children under age 9-11 |
Yes | 34 | 36 | 41 | 36 | 36 | 30 |
No | 66 | 64 | 59 | 64 | 64 | 70 |
What is important to you when choosing a child restraint device? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |
| Total respondents |
Quality certificate (crash tested) | 73 |
Affordable price | 18 |
Nice design | 5 |
Country of origin | 1 |
Warranty | - |
Child safety (reliability) | - |
Child comfort | - |
Other | 3 |
In your opinion, should the quality certification for child restraint systems be introduced to provide security and comfort for a child? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |||
| Total respondents | Men | Women |
Yes, any child restraint system should be certified | 93 | 91 | 95 |
No, quality certification is not needed | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Don`t know | 3 | 4 | 3 |
What body/agency should be responsible for the quality certification of child restraint systems? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |
| Total respondents |
Designated government bodies of the Russian Federation | 74 |
Designated centers set up by the country of origin | 14 |
Designated commercial centers in the Russian Federation | 5 |
Other | 1 |
Don`t know | 6 |
In your opinion, who has to set up the child restraint device in the car? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |
| Total respondents |
Parents | 75 |
No matter who | 9 |
Car service stations | 7 |
Sellers | 3 |
Traffic police staff | 2 |
Other | 1 |
Don`t know | 3 |
Could you assess the level of safety of children traveling in vehicles using a 5-point scale (for children under the age of 12), where 1 means “very dangerous”, 5 – “absolutely safe”? (closed-ended question, one answer, average score) | |
| Average score |
Child is in a child restraint device | 4.1 |
Child fastened with a normal seat belt using additional equipment (pillows, et cet.) | 2.5 |
Child fastened with a normal seat belt | 2.3 |
Child is carried by an adult | 1.7 |
Child is fastened in a car | 1.2 |
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