National Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 19-25
The Consumer Reports Safety Blog recently covered an interesting report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the effectiveness of child safety seats. While there is no doubt that child safety seats help protect kids in the event of a crash, the NHSTA report did not address how parents should go about selecting the right car seat for their kids. With National Child Passenger Safety Week, September 19-25, it is important to let consumers know that information about NHTSA’s 5-Star, Ease of Use Ratings of child car seats is available at http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/Ease-of-Use.
Raising awareness of the Ease of Use Ratings is critical since NHTSA data shows that 75 percent of all car seats are improperly installed. A real disconnect is suggested by what many consumers believe about their car seat installation and the safety-related realities. A recent survey of more than 900 parents who use car seats shows that 91 percent were confident that their car seat(s) were properly installed. The survey was done by The First Years, which is the only brand to receive NHTSA’s 5-Star, highest-overall Ease of Use Rating in the infant, booster and convertible car seats categories.
