Car Seat Testing Causes Alarm

Car Seat Testing

Consumer Reports, a product watchdog, called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week to toughen its car seat standards. The magazine reported that 10 out of 12 popular car seats failed at speeds as low as 35 mph. Most car seats failed disastrously. The car seats twisted violently or flew off their bases, in one case hurling a test dummy 30 feet across the lab.

The test is a first for the car seat industry. Instead of measuring the seats' performance against the NHTSA standard of a 30-mph front-end collision, Consumer Reports exposed them to the same tests afforded to new cars -- a 35-mph frontal crash and 38-mph side collision.

The Graco SnugRide and Baby Trend Flex-Loc models survived the tests. Ten others fell short. The Evenflo Discovery model failed even to meet the NHTSA standards which prompted Consumer Reports to ask for a recall.

According to a spokesperson from the NHTSA, studies have shown child seats to be 71 percent effective for averting serious injury as long as they are used correctly.