According to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, parents may be turning car seats to face forward sooner than they should be. The report indicates children may be up to five times safer when facing rear rather than forward.

Crashes are one of the leading causes of death and injury for children, underscoring the importance of proper safety seat use. The current trend may be caused partly by out-of-date information. In April of this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that parents keep child safety seats rear-facing until children reach two years old, a change from the previous standing recommendation which suggested they wait for children to weigh at least 20 pounds and be a year old.

Only 13 percent of parents surveyed waited 24 months or longer to turn their child's seat forward, while 30 percent waited a year or less. Another 43 percent waited between 13 and 23 months.

Many parents consulted car seat packaging or a doctor or nurse to determine when the appropriate time had come, while more than half consulted family and friends or turned to organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics or government agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Vehicle safety to avoid accidents and recover from them can be improved by driving properly, selecting a vehicle with good safety features and securing reliable auto insurance coverage.