Car seats are one of the most important inventions that allow parents to take their children with them and continue to travel safely. Many parents, however, do not use car seats correctly, according to new research from the Journal of Pediatrics. The majority of families who have infants have problems when installing or using a car seat.

It is the case that most parents make at least one mistake and often many more than this. Car seats are very difficult to use and are more difficult than most people realize. Many parents never even take the time to read the instruction manual that comes equipped with the car seat.

When used properly, a car seat can reduce the risk of an infant being injured or killed by as much as 71%. In 2013, as many as 8,500 infants had to be hospitalized as the result of a motor vehicle accident. These accidents also led to the fatalities for 130 children.

This report was based on surveys given to approximately 300 families after they were discharged from the hospital with a newborn. Every family was asked about the car seat being used with the newborn. Safety instructors also looked at the installation and positioning of the seat and made note of potential errors. Up to 95% of the families made at least one critical error when using their car seat and 91% of parents made a life threatening error.

Some of the most common factors associated with errors in car seat installation included lower education rates, lower levels of English literacy, and lower socioeconomic status. Make sure you have done your research on the appropriate car seat to buy and read the manual to install it properly. Doing so could just save your child’s life.