Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[IIHS says booster seats are getting better, releases 2012 report]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/27/iihs-says-booster-seats-are-getting-better-releases-2012-report/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/27/iihs-says-booster-seats-are-getting-better-releases-2012-report/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/27/iihs-says-booster-seats-are-getting-better-releases-2012-report/#commentsFiled under:

Booster Seat

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety has released its latest booster seat test results which show seat makers are more than ever designing better products.

The agency looked at 17 booster seats newly introduced for 2012. All but two of those have been added to the list of Best Bet booster seats which now totals 47.

"Booster manufacturers have risen to the Institute's challenge to improve seat design, giving parents more choices than ever when shopping for a booster that will provide a good, safe fit for their children," says Anne McCartt, Institute senior vice president for research, in a press release.

The Institute does not crash test booster seats, but instead checks to make sure a car's seat belts properly fit the seat and the child. A correct fit means the lap belt lies flat across the child's thighs and the shoulder belt crosses snugly over the middle of the shoulder.

The two low-ranked boosters for 2012 are the Safety 1st All-inOne and Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite. Both are older 3-in-1 designs made my Dorel Juvenile Group Inc. The two seats can convert between a rear-facing infant seat, front facing child seat, and booster for larger children. While the IIHS said the two seats perform acceptably for the first two stages, they were not suitable as boosters

Four Evenflo boosters that didn't make last year's cut have been discontinued.

See the IIHS video below, along with a press release and the rundown of all the Best Bet booster seats.

Continue reading IIHS says booster seats are getting better, releases 2012 report

IIHS says booster seats are getting better, releases 2012 report originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, booster seats, the last removable throne before children earn the privilege of sitting their butts directly on a car's seat, which they'll then refuse to do until the day they turn 16 and start driving themselves. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety began testing booster seats back in 2008, and this year's lot has produced a record number of BEST BETS designations, the highest rating the IIHS bestows upon a booster seat.

A booster seat is used when a child has outgrown a typical car seat, usually between the ages of four and eight, until reaching a height of 4 foot, 9 inches tall. Unlike car seats, they are not anchored down, not meant to provide crash protection, and only elevate a child so that a vehicle's lap and shoulder belts, which are meant for adults, lay flat across the upper thighs and cross snuggly over the middle of the shoulder. There are also two kinds of booster seats: highback and backless.

The IIHS tested 62 booster seats in its latest evaluation, or 83 total if you count the dual mode seats that can be converted from highback to backless. A record 31 seats were given the highest BEST BETS designation, which means they're able to correctly position a vehicle's safety belt on a child in almost any car, minivan or SUV. Another five received a GOOD BETS designation, meaning they provide an acceptable fit, and six were not recommended at all for providing an improper fit. The biggest group of the bunch, however, fall into a fourth category called "check fit," which means they may provide good belt positioning on some children in some vehicles, but parents are warned to check first with their own child and vehicle to make sure first.

IIHS reports that Canadian-based Harmony Juvenile Products is the lone standout company of the bunch, with all five of its products being named BEST BETS and the Harmany Dreamtime, which can be had for about $50 at Walmart, being the only seat tested to earn the highest rating in both highback and backless mode.

Continue reading Record number of booster seats earn highest rating from IIHS

Record number of booster seats earn highest rating from IIHS originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>best betsbooster seatscar seatsiihsinsurance institute for highway safetyThu, 13 Oct 2011 18:15:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20080877/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/10/13/record-number-of-booster-seats-earn-highest-rating-from-iihs/20080877/article-detail.xml 20080877 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/10/crmeasureall-41-opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/10/crmeasureall-41-opt.jpg <![CDATA[Toxic chemicals found in over half of children's car seats]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/07/toxic-chemicals-found-in-over-half-of-childrens-car-seats/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/07/toxic-chemicals-found-in-over-half-of-childrens-car-seats/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/07/toxic-chemicals-found-in-over-half-of-childrens-car-seats/#commentsFiled under:

Child Seat

Car seats are undoubtedly a must-have if you want to keep your child safe in the car. Yet, as with so many other things, they can hide surprises that you might want your child to avoid. In this case the surprise is chemicals that, according to HealthyStuff.org, possess "known toxicity, persistence, and tendency to build up in people and the environment." They include bromine, chlorine and lead, among others.

Some of the seatmakers, such as Graco, earned spots on both the best and worst lists. Although the best and worst performers in the tests earn a numerical score, the tests don't indicate the exact amount of the detected chemicals. Things have gotten better, though, with average car seat rankings improving by 64 percent since 2008.

You can find the press release with more details after the jump, and all of the tested seats ranked here.

Continue reading Toxic chemicals found in over half of children's car seats

Toxic chemicals found in over half of children's car seats originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 07 Aug 2011 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>babiesbooster seatscar seatcar seatschemicalschildrenhealthystuff.orgkidssafetySun, 07 Aug 2011 12:03:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20011426/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/08/07/toxic-chemicals-found-in-over-half-of-childrens-car-seats/20011426/article-detail.xml 20011426 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/08/carseattoxicitystudy_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/08/carseattoxicitystudy.jpg <![CDATA[How government safety standards for car seats fail large children]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/18/how-government-safety-standards-for-car-seats-fail-large-childre/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/18/how-government-safety-standards-for-car-seats-fail-large-childre/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/18/how-government-safety-standards-for-car-seats-fail-large-childre/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Every parent does his or her best to keep their children safe. Car seats are a big part of that equation, and snapping our little cherubs into a five-point harness makes us feel like we've done our very best to care for our precious offspring. But are we really?

If you assume there's strict federal federal standards for child safety and booster seats to conform to, you might be surprised at just how little oversight there actually is. In fact, kids weighing more than 65 pounds - which means younger and younger kids as childhood obesity rates ratchet up - sit on boosters with no government safety standards. Seats for younger young'uns are only held to a front-end collision standard. The physics of a car crash act in different ways on the bodies of children than they do on their full-grown counterparts - kids are not simply scaled-down adults.

According to The Washington Post, part of the problem is that a crash-test dummy that mimics a child's physiology is far behind schedule. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was supposed to have a dummy ready by 2004 to simulate a 10-year-old, as part of Anton's Law, a bit of legislation that went into effect in 2002. That dummy is still not right, and that leaves child seat manufacturers to self-regulate their products and to recall reactively when problems crop up, instead of conforming to guidelines that protect all children in front, side, rear-end and rollover accidents.

[Source: The Washington Post | Image: U.S. Department of Transportation via CC 2.0]

How government safety standards for car seats fail large children originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>antons lawbooster seatscar seatschild booster seatschild safety seatcrash test dummiesnhtsaFri, 18 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19878172/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/03/18/how-government-safety-standards-for-car-seats-fail-large-childre/19878172/article-detail.xml 19878172 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/crashtestfamily_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/crashtestfamily.jpg <![CDATA[IIHS rates 72 booster seats for belt fit]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/09/iihs-rates-72-booster-seats-for-belt-fit/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/09/iihs-rates-72-booster-seats-for-belt-fit/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/09/iihs-rates-72-booster-seats-for-belt-fit/#commentsFiled under:

IIHS Booster SeatThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its third round of booster seat evaluations in which researchers examine how well child safety restraints work with existing seat belts. According to the IIHS, a child booster seat should put the lower portion of the seat belt across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt at mid-shoulder. Those booster seats that met these criteria were awarded a Best Bet or Good Bet rating depending on effectiveness. Those that didn't adequately reposition the seatbelts didn't receive any type of recommendation from the Institute.

Interestingly enough, the IIHS doesn't perform crash tests to evaluate booster seats. Instead, it says that it's the seatbelt fit that matters most of all, allowing the factory passenger restraints to do their work without causing injury to kids. For a full list of the IIHS Best and Good Bets, you can hit the jump and have a look at the full press release.

[Source: IIHS]

Continue reading IIHS rates 72 booster seats for belt fit

IIHS rates 72 booster seats for belt fit originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Booster SeatsBoostersBoosterSeatsIIHSInsurance Institute for Highway SafetyInsuranceInstituteForHighwaySafetyThu, 09 Sep 2010 08:01:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19625363/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/09/09/iihs-rates-72-booster-seats-for-belt-fit/19625363/article-detail.xml 19625363 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/good-fit-250_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/good-fit-250.jpg <![CDATA[Followup: NHTSA to allow vehicle-specific child seats after all?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/27/followup-nhtsa-to-allow-vehicle-specific-child-seats-after-all/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/27/followup-nhtsa-to-allow-vehicle-specific-child-seats-after-all/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/27/followup-nhtsa-to-allow-vehicle-specific-child-seats-after-all/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Last week Volvo announced a range of car seats designed with Britax specifically for Volvo cars. The same announcement also stated the seats wouldn't be for sale in the U.S. because NHTSA doesn't allow the sale of car seats only meant for specific cars. In our reader poll of your opinion, more than 80% of you declared the feds universal child seat mandate wrong.

Could it be a coincidence that today, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood wrote, "NHTSA will ... institute a new program to make it easier for parents to choose child safety seats for their specific vehicles"?

LaHood had ordered a review of child seat policy and the new program is part of the review findings. Although the program isn't specifically geared toward Volvo's development, it provides that "Manufacturers will recommend specific seats in various price ranges that work best for individual vehicles." The DoT is aiming for a start date in 2011. Hat tip to JM

[Source: U.S. DoT]

Followup: NHTSA to allow vehicle-specific child seats after all? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>babybjornbooster seatsBoosterSeatsbritaxcar seatsCarSeatschild seatsChildSeatsdepartment of transportationDepartmentOfTransportationdotinfantinfant car seatsInfantCarSeatsmaclarenmedelanational highway traffic safety administrationNationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministrationnhtsapeg pereloPegPerelosafetyvolvoMon, 27 Apr 2009 17:01:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1529399/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/04/27/followup-nhtsa-to-allow-vehicle-specific-child-seats-after-all/1529399/article-detail.xml 1529399 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/04/volvo_britax_dot_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/04/volvo_britax_dot.jpg <![CDATA[REPORT: Federal laws keeping Volvo from offering safer child seats [w/POLL]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/21/report-federal-laws-keeping-volvo-from-offering-safer-child-sea/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/21/report-federal-laws-keeping-volvo-from-offering-safer-child-sea/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/21/report-federal-laws-keeping-volvo-from-offering-safer-child-sea/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The safety-conscious folks over at Volvo have been hard at work with child seat maker Britax-Romer on developing a range of next-generation infant, child, and booster seats. And while the seats are going on sale elsewhere in the world, they apparently face an obstacle in the US: the National Higway Traffic Safety Administration. How's that? According to Inside Line, NHTSA mandates that every child seat must fit in every car, but the Volvo-branded seats have been developed to be Volvo-specific items, which means they can't be sold here - not even to Volvo owners.

According to an anonymous Inside Line source at Volvo:

"NHTSA has mandated that child seats cannot be vehicle-specific... every seat must fit every car - in our opinion, this just makes for an inferior seat.

The source goes on to say:

"We have requested rule changes by NHTSA and have been ignored. While NHTSA's rules certainly benefit all consumers, we have a solution that is the best solution for our cars.

Volvo's new infant and convertible child seats are highly adjustable and serve kids from newborns up to age six, with the latter seat able to keep older children facing the rear - something that hasn't previously been possible. The booster seat has eleven height settings and can serve kids up to age ten. The seats will go on sale in Europe and Asia this year, but Americans and Canadians are out of luck.

Be sure to check out the gallery below and vote in our "Is NHTSA right?" poll after the jump (where you can also read Volvo's full press release).


Gallery: Volvo Britax Car Seats


[Sources: Inside Line; Volvo]

Continue reading REPORT: Federal laws keeping Volvo from offering safer child seats [w/POLL]

REPORT: Federal laws keeping Volvo from offering safer child seats [w/POLL] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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