SUVs are becoming more popular as family vehicles because they can accommodate multiple child safety seats and their larger size may lead parents to believe SUVs are safer than passenger cars.

SUVs are becoming more popular as family vehicles because they can accommodate multiple child safety seats and their larger size may lead parents to believe SUVs are safer than passenger cars. However, people who use an SUV as their family vehicle should know that SUVs do not provide superior protection for child occupants and that age- and size -appropriate restraints and rear seating for children under 13 years are critically important because of the increased risk of a rollover crash.

SUVs are becoming more popular as family vehicles because they can accommodate multiple child safety seats and their larger size may lead parents to believe SUVs are safer than passenger cars. However, people who use an SUV as their family vehicle should know that SUV's do not provide superior protection for child occupants.

How we square that is the potential safety advantage of the added size and weight appears to be offset by the rollover risk.

In 1999 ... booster seats were used by only 5 percent of 4- to 8-year-olds. By the middle of last year, that figure stood at just over 30 percent. That is great news. But there remains much room for improvement.

There's no net advantage for kids in SUVs than kids in passenger cars. I suspect that will run counter to most peoples' assumptions.