NHTSA Plans to Update Child Seat Safety Guidelines
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently announced plans to issue new child safety seat regulations by year-end.
According to NHTSA chief Nicole Nason, the plan is to update the federal regulations governing auto safety seats and the system in automobiles for securing them without using safety belts. "It's not an easy solution," Nason said. "We want to make children as safe as possible, give parents the best information and make the technology available to protect children in vehicles."
Nason also indicated that although the plan doesn't include whether to require side-impact crash tests for child safety seats, it remains under consideration.
Several automakers want better labeling of child safety seat anchors in vehicles. Automakers and car seat manufacturers are scheduled to in April, 2007 to discuss issues of common concern.
"The LATCH system has been required by Congress since 2002. But a December study by NHTSA showed that 40 percent of parents are still using seat belts to restrain children.
Safety experts emphasized that the safest place for a child is in a properly restrained child seat. Even though just 5 percent of children are unrestrained, they account for 30 percent of fatalities, said Adrian Lung, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Every day, roughly five children die and 640 are injured in U.S. automobile crashes. Car accidents remain the leading cause of death for people ages 3 to 35."
Following a recent story by Consumer Reports, the safety of car seats jumped to the public's attention. Although the report condemned most infant car seats and was later discredited, it shocked parents and prompted numerous calls to the government and car-seat makers.
"The summit brought together automotive company safety officials, child seat makers and experts to talk about how to better inform parents on the proper use of child safety seats.
On Tuesday, Consumer Reports' publisher, Consumers Union, named two well-respected independent auto safety experts to review the discredited infant car seat tests.
Brian O'Neill, former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and Dr. Kennerly H. Digges, director of Vehicle Safety and Biomechanics at the National Crash Analysis Center in Virginia, a former senior executive at NHTSA.
"We are confident that they will conduct a thorough review of this incident and determine what went wrong," said Consumers Union President Jim Guest."
