Children, whose parents are part of a carpool, may be at a much higher risk of suffering injuries in accidents, because parents’ rules about booster seats become lax when they're part of a carpool.

That information comes from a new study, which has just been published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study's authors say that parents, who would otherwise never drive a car without making sure that their child is buckled in safely in a booster seat, tend to let these rules fly out the window when they are part of a carpool group. The main reasons for this are lack of time and overcrowding. Parents, who are picking up children on their way to school, may not take the time to restrain children individually in their seats.

However, San Francisco car accident lawyers believe that these practices are extremely dangerous. Automobile accidents are the major cause of death for children below the age of 15. Every year, hundreds of lives are saved in accidents because children are safely restrained in booster seats.

In California, new laws require a child to be in a booster seat until the age of eight, or until the child reaches 4'9" in height. Those laws have been passed because children of this age group could suffer severe and even fatal injuries to internal organs, if they have been restrained in seatbelts.

Seatbelts have been designed specifically for adult bodies, and can do little to protect children from injuries in an accident. In fact, they may do more harm than good. A booster seat can protect the child's body, by cushioning it. According to some studies, a child who is restrained in a booster seat is about 45% less likely to suffer injuries in a car accident, compared to a child wearing a seatbelt.