Is your child's car seat installed properly? Tips from an expert

Let's start with the good news first: When they hop in the car, most kids, ages 8 and under, still use a car seat or booster seat.

But, even though we have those seats in our vehicles, many of us parents still are using them all wrong. In fact, the same report found that 46 percent of car seats and booster seats aren't properly used.

This misuse happens most frequently with forward-facing car seats - 61 percent aren't installed properly. About 50 percent of rear-facing infant car seats; 44 percent of rear-facing convertible car seats; 24 percent of backless booster seats; and 16 percent of high back booster seats also aren't used the right way.

These figures likely are no surprise to Chris Morris, a retired state trooper with the N.C. State Highway Patrol, who joined UNC Rex Healthcare in 2003 as a certified child passenger safety instructor.

Morris estimates that he has installed or inspected more than 40,000 car seats since he began in 1983, and has won several awards for his work. Today, he teaches free, two-hour child passenger safety classes for expectant parents at the REX Women’s Center.

When Morris inspects car seats, he said parents often aren't even aware that they are doing anything incorrectly.

"Mostly, I see a car seat that’s just wrong, with several things wrong, and the parents don’t know that there’s a problem," he said.

Common mistakes, Morris says, include car seats and straps that aren’t tight enough; use of the wrong seat for the age, weight and size of the child; the wrong position in the car (rear facing vs. forward facing); and using too many belts to attach the seat.

Exactly what kind of seat your child needs and how they should be installed varies widely - depending on your child's age and size and even the kind of car you drive.