Their correct use, Consumer Reports findings
There’s no contesting this fact: When correctly installed and used, child safety seats decrease the risk of injury and death to children riding in motor vehicles. So the first challenge is getting all parents everywhere to use a child restraint seat every time.
However, the next challenge is educating people on the correct use of the seats. Statistics vary, but most agencies agree that approximately 7 out of 10 children sitting in child safety seats are not properly buckled in. There are many websites and publications that offer information about the correct use of child seats. Parents should consult a local child safety authority and/or do an online search to obtain information on correctly using the seats.
Also – seats can be damaged, defective, or simply ineffective. Often parents don’t know if their particular child seat would hold up well and do its job properly in a crash. Note that parents can have their child safety seat inspected (they can research who does it locally – often police, state troopers and firefighters perform these inspections or know of who does). Also, a booster seat should be used to make the restraints fit better when necessary.
Consumers can go online to find Inspection sites.
Another consideration for parents is “which child seat to purchase and use.” Many Americans look to the widely known “Consumer Reports” for this type of guidance. However, in late January, Consumer Reports withdrew its most recent findings on child safety seats. These findings had reported on the performance of various car seat brands/models based on side impact crash tests. But there was a discrepancy in the actual speed at which the tests were performed and the standard speed recommended by the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Findings initially released had utilized test speeds higher than the 35-mile-per-hour standard. At the higher speeds, the car seats did not perform very well, and the initial report said so. This unfortunately resulted in some consumers believing that, if the car seats performed so badly, it isn’t that critical to use one.
Consumer Reports pulled the report from the media and from their website.
It later came to light that the testing lab used had performed some crash tests that matched speeds of up to 70 mph at impact. Thus the poor performance of the seats was ‘understandable’.
Still, considering that drivers – including parents with children in the car – are often traveling at speeds greater than 35 m.p.h., the findings still have value. They should still be shared so that comparisons can be made. But unless you saw them and got an initial copy/printed them out, the results were pulled. To truly and accurately test a child safety seat, should it not be tested at a variety of speeds? Say, a 20 m.p.h. crash, 35 m.ph., 50 m.p.h., and so on?
Of course the hope is that parents with children in the car drive the speed limit or below, and are extremely careful. But the reality is that crashes do happen, and each year, car accidents are the leading cause of death of children. These accidents include backovers and other types of accidents, which will be covered in a future article on this site.
Regarding the Consumer Reports recommendations on which child seats perform well in crash tests, they will be releasing new findings as soon as the re-test at the lower speed is complete. You can continue to check back at website: consumerreports.org
At that site, you can currently find information on how to choose a seat/what to look for.
The Shane McGee Foundation supports and applauds child safety seat testing. But while current standards for testing are useful and even rigorous, continuous advanced testing should be expected and even demanded by consumers. This will help place more pressure on child seat manufacturers to continue to improve and perfect their product.
Tips on proper installation and use of car seats for children, excerpted from Consumer Reports (published by Consumers Union).
STEPS FOR CAR-SEAT INSTALLATION
1. Meet requirements for both height and weight.
A child must satisfy both height and weight requirements before sitting forward-facing--not just one criterion or the other. CU recommends that children be, at the very least, 22 pounds as well as 12 months old before facing forward. To be on the safe side, parents can and should consider keeping a child rear-facing until the child's weight meets the upper end of the car seat's recommended weight limit.
2. Install the seat properly.
The safest bet for installation is to have a trained professional do the job. Check with a local fire or police station for the nearest certified inspection location, or go to the SeatCheck or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web sites to find a location.
SEAT TYPES AND SUGGESTED USES
Infant car seats: This type is used for children from newborn to about 22 pounds, and it is used exclusively in the rear-facing position. Never use a rear-facing infant seat beyond the manufacturer's weight limits.
Convertible car seats: Parents should opt for a convertible seat next. Some models can be used rear-facing at first and eventually can be put in the forward-facing position. The longer you can keep a child rear-facing, the better, because the force of a crash is distributed along the whole length of the child's torso and head, and both are supported by the car seat.
Toddler booster seats: In toddler mode with the harness, these accommodate children between about 20 and 40 pounds. When children reach 40 pounds, it can be converted to a booster seat, which children can typically use until they're 80 to 100 pounds.
Booster seats: These are generally for children weighing 40 to 80 pounds. They use the vehicle's own safety belt to restrain the child.