Trina..car seat article
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive January 2007:
Trina..car seat article
cr on car seats
Let's see if I did that link right. This is very interesting reading from consumer reports.
Oh yes, the Child Passenger Safety community is buzzing about this!
Responses:
JPMA Responds to Consumer Reports' Testing of Infant Car Seats
January 4, 2007
The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), which represents the
leading manufacturers of infant child restraints in the United States,
questions the forthcoming findings of Consumer Reports magazine about the
performance of infant child restraints in recent crash tests. In the real
world, no product is more effective at reducing fatalities and injuries to
our precious children.
"Child restraints are highly effective safety devices that have saved
thousands of children's lives in car crashes," said Robert Waller, JPMA
President. "Their use is required throughout the nation, because they are so
effective at reducing injury to children. It is irresponsible to suggest
that infant child restraints may not perform well in crashes."
Moreover, the crash test results and protocols have not previously been
shared with the industry or government for proper evaluation. The scientific
validity of Consumer Reports' conclusions is highly questionable. Most
infants and toddlers under 4 years of age are being transported in vehicles
with child restraint seats. Research has proven time and again that these
seats are highly effective at reducing the likelihood of death by more than
70%. These seats are considerably more effective than adult safety belts.
The bigger issue affecting the potential for injury or death is non-use of
such seats. Too many infants and especially older children ride unrestrained
in motor vehicles.
All child restraints sold in the United States are required to satisfy the
rigorous performance standards established by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), and are certified by their manufacturers as
compliant before they can be offered for sale. Manufacturers extensively
test their child restraints, using both in-house and independent test
laboratories, both for the purpose of assuring compliance before marketing
the products and to confirm continuing compliance during production. The
Government also independently tests child restraints every year to ensure
compliance with its standards.
NHTSA has determined that "child restraints are highly effective in reducing
the likelihood of death and or serious injury in motor vehicle crashes." 68
Fed.Reg. 37620, 37622 (June 24, 2003). NHTSA studies show that for infants
(children less than one year old), a child restraint can reduce the risk of
fatality by 71 percent when used in a passenger car and by 58 percent when
used in a light truck, van or SUV. 68 Fed.Reg. at 37622.
NHTSA has noted that an increase in severity of speed would require redesign
of many child restraints and increase their cost and availability "without a
proportionate safety benefit" 68 Fed. Reg. at 37640.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has confirmed that "child
restraints designed to pass the current 30 mph standard are providing very
good protection to children in frontal crashes, and there is no evidence
suggesting that designing child restraints to withstand higher crash forces
could have prevented or mitigated any of the serious or fatal injuries in
cases studied by the Institute". NHTSA Docket 11707, Entry 31.
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) also
advised that the 30 mph sled test is "more severe than approximately 98% of
the frontal impact crashes nationwide." UMTRI cautioned against increasing
the speed of the test, noting:
"Increasing the velocity of the test is not likely to increase safety, but
will increase consumer cost of child restraint systems. In addition,
designing child restraints to pass a test at higher crash severity may lead
to child restraint design changes that make the restraints less effective or
more easily misused at lower severity crashes, which occur much more
frequently." NHTSA Docket 11707, Entry 43.
As noted by these and other experts, there is no evidence that infant child
restraints would protect children better in real world crashes if they were
designed to meet a crash test conducted at higher speed. Moreover, design
changes needed to meet a higher crash speed may result in designs that are
less effective in lower speed collisions, or harder to install properly,
leading to decreased safety in the vast majority of crashes. The fact
remains that child restraints are highly effective at reducing death and
serious injury in the real world. To the extent that the Consumer Reports
story undermines confidence in use of these restraints it does the public a
disservice. Greater use of these demonstrably life saving seats should be
promoted, not discouraged. Ultimately, better performance of vehicles in all
crash situations will provide the greatest commensurate benefit for all
vehicle occupants.
****************************
From Safe Kids
Consumers Union is announcing tomorrow, January 5, that only two infant car seats (Graco SnugRide EPS and Baby Trend FlexLoc) passed its proprietary crash tests, including a side-impact crash at 38 mph. Consumers Union is advising parents to replace other models if possible and to use safety belts only, not LATCH, with four other models (Chicco KeyFit, Compass 1410, Evenflo Embrace and Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP). The report will be mentioned on NBC News tonight. Expect a lot of phone calls from parents and local media.
Talking points:
Today’s car seats are safe and effective if used correctly. Every car seat on the market in the United States has passed the same rigorous crash tests required by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
If you’re following manufacturer’s instructions, you’re giving your baby the safest ride possible with current technology. Make sure your infant car seat is less than six years old, has never been in a crash, is reclining at about a 45-degree angle in the car, is secured tightly in the back seat and the harness straps are adjusted correctly for your baby.
Any car seat made after 2002 can be installed either with safety belts or the LATCH system in a vehicle made in 2002 or later. Use safety belts or LATCH for an infant, whichever you prefer, but not both. If you’re worried about the performance of LATCH, use the safety belt.
We want to see the technology continue to improve, but we don’t want parents to lose confidence in their car seats today — the best protection available. Federal standards do not call for side-impact crash tests at this time. The International Standards Organization is drafting global standards that will include side-impact tests; meanwhile, the highest standard in the world is a side-impact crash test at 19 mph that is mandatory in Australia. Consumers Union tested car seats at twice that speed.
Read the instructions and follow them carefully. Even if you don’t usually read the instructions for other products, read your car seat owner’s manual cover to cover. Also read the section of your vehicle owner’s manual that deals with occupant protection.
If you still have questions, call us. Safe Kids can refer you to a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician or a car seat inspection station for free hands-on training.
Safe Kids Worldwide is issuing a national news release and posting a statement on the Web site. Lorrie Walker will be interviewed live Friday morning on the New York City local news preceding the Today Show on NBC, with (or against) a spokesperson from Consumers Union, and there’s a good chance that the segment will be rebroadcast on the Today Show.
We have been in contact with all of the manufacturers involved and will have a conference call with NHTSA this afternoon. Collectively, we will be calling on Consumers Union to release their data and methodology, and in particular to explain how they came up with a 38 mph standard. For now, though, we recommend you continue to do what you do best: provide parents with the most reliable safety information available today. As always, call or e-mail us if you have any questions.
— Safe Kids Worldwide media team and Safe Kids Buckle Up staff.
*******************************
Partners for Child Passenger Safety
This month's issue of Consumer Reports (CR) features an article
questioning the performance of certain rear-facing infant car seats,
particularly with respect to the use of LATCH to secure the infant seat
base to the vehicle's seat. The high-severity frontal and side sled
tests conducted by Consumers Union in the lab found that most car seats
performed poorly in either one or both of the tests and performed worse
when attached to the vehicle using LATCH than they did when attached
with the vehicle's seat belt.
- The Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) research team
at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia supports the need for
further research into the effectiveness of LATCH to protect children of
all ages. As LATCH becomes more prevalent, we will be able to conduct
analyses of the effectiveness of LATCH to protect children in real-world
crashes. The PCPS team further supports the development of a side impact
test procedure for child restraints that accurately simulates real world
crash conditions. In the meantime, it is important for parents to place
findings such as those reported in CR in perspective: children riding in
the correct restraint for their age and size are far safer than if they
were not restrained at all, or in a restraint that is inappropriate for
their age or size.
- The most current data from PCPS, which is the largest
available source of information on children involved in real world
crashes, shows:
· Less than one percent of crashes reported to PCPS since
1997 involved infants in rear-facing seats in side-impact crashes. Among
these cases, the risk of injury was less than one-half of one percent
– with no evidence of a difference whether the seat was attached by
LATCH or by the vehicle seat belt. It is important to note, however,
that injuries sustained by these children were not necessarily caused by
a child restraint that came loose, as was seen in the tests conducted by
Consumer's Union.
· Previous PCPS analyses indicate that side impact crashes
generally have higher injury rates than frontal impacts for all
passengers, including children restrained in child restraints. Children
in forward-facing restraints in side-impact crashes showed a few common
characteristics of the crashes that resulted in injury: intrusion into
the child's occupant space, a frontal component of the crash (rather
than a 90-degree side-impact collision); and rotation of the child
restraint towards the side of impact. Many of these characteristics are
challenging to simulate in a sled test like the one implemented by
Consumers Union.
Trina, is the latch issue only for rear facing seats? Is it better for forward facing seats to use the vehicle seatbelt, too?
And I was confused by the fact that you're better protected in a car than a van. It said something like reducing death by 71% in a car and 58% in a van, SUV, light truck, etc. I assume these percentages have more to do with the vehicle than the carseat. I know SUVs can rollover, but are minivans more dangerous than normal cars, too??
I did read the CR all the way through, which honestly most people won't. Two points I found interesting.
1. It does very clearly state, any car seat is better than no car seat.
2. The car seats made/sold in england hold up better in the test. I had no idea they weren't the same!
I read the whole CR article, too, and found it to be very fair, and not frightening. It didn't seem like they wanted to make parents panic and if I had infants I would be happy to learn this info and buy one of the two seats they mentioned. I don't think this article did any damage, but I'm not in the carseat trenches so I don't know for sure. I know I don't agree with the counter articles saying that newly designed seats for higher crash speeds would probably negate other good parts of the seat and cause difficulty in installation. The point is to make a better seat in ALL areas, so if they can improve it in higher crash speeds they also need to make sure it's still user friendly and safe in lower speed crashes. That first counter article makes it sound like they designers wouldn't do that! They don't give them very much credit!
Consumer Reports Withdraws Infant Car Seat Report
Move is Made Pending Additional Testing Now Underway
NEW YORK (Jan. 18) — Consumer Reports is withdrawing its recent report on infant car seats pending further tests of the performance of those seats in side-impact collisions.
A new report will be published with any necessary revisions as soon as possible after the new tests are complete.
We withdrew the report immediately upon discovering a substantive issue that may have affected the original test results. The issue came to light based on new information received Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning the speed at which our side-impact tests were conducted.
The original study, published in the February issue of Consumer Reports, was aimed at discovering how infant seats performed in tests at speeds that match those used in the government's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). This program tests most new vehicles in crashes at speeds of 35 mph for frontal impact and 38 mph for side impact. Child safety seats, in contrast, are currently tested only in front-impact crashes at speeds of 30 mph.
Our tests were intended to simulate side crashes at the NCAP speed of 38 mph. The new information raises a question about whether the tests accurately simulated that speed, however, so we are now reviewing our tests and the resulting article.
To those who may have seen the report earlier in print, on the Web, or in broadcasts, we urge you to remember that use of any child seat is safer than no child seat, but to suspend judgment on the merits of individual products until the new testing has been completed and the report re-published.
We appreciate that manufacturers and particularly NHTSA are engaging directly with us on this article, and we applaud NHTSA for giving serious consideration to the development of side-impact child seat tests. Consumer Reports has long advocated adoption of such tests, since government data show that side crashes account for a significant number of child fatalities.
We look forward to re-issuing guidance on child-seat safety as soon as possible.
Another article:
Consumer Reports recalls car seat study
|
Members
