Washington ? Seat belt use for children is at a record, but too many infants and young children still are being placed at risk by riding in front seats, federal safety officials said Monday.

A survey by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration found 15 percent of infants were riding in the front seat, where they are at increased risk of injury from crashes or deploying air bags even if they are in infant seats.

The survey found 10 percent of 1- to 3-year-olds and 29 percent of 4- to 7-year-olds also were riding in the front seat. NHTSA and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children 12 and under ride in the back seat.

“There are new parents every day, and even those old parents who need to be reminded: The only way to keep these children safe is to put them in a child safety seat appropriate to their age in the back seat,” said Dr. Jeffrey Runge, NHTSA’s chief.

Deaths of children in auto accidents have been declining since 1998, when crashes killed 1,395 children 12 and under. In 2001, the total was 1,248.

Figures for 2002 are not yet available.

NHTSA surveyed safety belt and child safety seat use by observing 38,000 vehicles at 1,100 intersections around the nation last year.

The agency found 99 percent of infants, 94 percent of 1- to 3-year-olds and 83 percent of 4- to 7-year-olds were riding with seat belts. That was higher than 2000 levels, when 95 percent of infants and 91 percent of toddlers were buckled up. The agency didn’t measure seat belt use among children ages 4 to 7 in 2000.

Those children were not necessarily being restrained in the way that NHTSA recommends, spokeswoman Ellen Martin said.

NHTSA says infants under 1 should be in rear-facing safety seats, while children between 20 and 40 pounds should be in forward-facing safety seats.

Children who are over the weight limits for forward-facing seats but are still under 8 and under 4-foot-9 should be in booster seats.

The agency also found that male drivers were buckling up children at the same rate as females in 2002, after years of lagging behind.