IIHS Rates Booster Seats for First Time; Some Fail the Test
A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute indicates that some of the booster seats designed to protect children in a car crash don't perform effectively -- and could actually injure their occupants.
In fact, 13 of the 41 booster seats tested did so poorly on the test that the IIHS says it can't recommend them, including models from Cosco, Safety 1st, Evenflo and Graco. Click here for the details on "Best Bets," "Good Bets" and "Not Recommended" models.
Volvo is now happily touting the fact that its own height-adjustable integrated booster cushion (a world first) made the "Best Bets" list. It comes standard on the XC70 and V70 models. You go, Volvo.
Note that it wasn't that these boosters failed a crash test; instead, the study measured the fit of the lap and shoulder belts on a child-sized dummy. Simply put: if the lap belt rides sits on the abdomen instead of across the pelvis, or if the shoulder belt cuts across the neck, a child sitting in the booster seat can suffer serious internal injuries from those belts during a crash.
Booster seats are designed for children who are too big for toddler restraints (like a 5-point harness) but too small to safely use adult seat belts. Many children are "graduated" to adult belts long before they should be. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that a child be 4'9" and be between 8 and 12 years old before giving up the booster seat. As I know from personal experience, it can be a tough sell to the older kids. My son is 10, but I still make him use a booster most of the time. My car, my rules, I tell him.
Safety experts recommend using any booster rather than none at all, and the message seems to be getting through, as booster seat use has been on the rise. For lots more information, see Booster Seats: Fight the Good Fight. And click here for the child passenger safety laws in your state.
If you have kids, have they begun to fight against using boosters, and if so, at what age do you "give in," or not at all?
- Posted by
- Joanne Helperin October 8, 2008, 6:00 AM
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- Car Safety
- Technorati Tags:
- Booster Seats, Child Passenger Safety, IIHS, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Joanne, great to read from you again!
I'm looking at the BEST BET and NOT RECOMMENDED examples of the booster seat. Would that not largely depend on the size of the child? It appears the NOT RECOMMENDED seat in the photo would fit a smaller kid well.
As for the "if you had kids" question, I'll be honest and say I never knew such seats existed until today! I remember regular child seats from my childhood, but never saw a booster seat. Times have changed.....around when did booster seats come into the picture?
I did know about these suggestions for proper seat belt positioning. But I agree with blackadder, it all depends on the size of the child. And a lot depends on the car you're in. If the seat belt height itself is adjustable (like in most front seats and the middle seats of some minivans), you could always have the shoulder belt positioned correctly.
Anyway, all this stuff is certainly enough to make a parent anxious these days. One of our children recently outgrew his 5-point harness seat and into a simple backless booster seat much like #1 pictured above. The belt fits him properly (there is a clip built into the car that keeps the shoulder belt from going too high on his beck), but he looks so vulnerable and exposed. Oh well, he's far safer than we were as kids (laying across the seat or floorboard to take a nap on long trips). And I have confidence in the physics behind a 2.5-ton van or SUV.
Nice to see you guys, as well! Blackadder, I don't know exactly when booster seats came into being. I'd have to research that, and there's other more critical priorities right now (like the imploding auto industry and how it affects consumers). But you and ahightower are right, in that sure, much depends on the size of the child, the placement of the shoulder height, etc. But I think the IIHS is going with the law of averages, here. If you want the nitty gritty details of how they did the testing, it's all available on the IIHS.org Web site.
I always found it interesting, though, that front seats have adjustable shoulder harnesses but most back seats don't. I'm guessing that'll change over time... it's probably just a matter of a few dollars.
The truth is that most children who die in crashes do so because they aren't belted in at all. But booster seats are really important. When I was in Puerto Rico, my kids were in the backseat of our rental car -- with booster seats -- when a guy completely cut in front of us and we slammed into him. It was really clear from the force of the blow that the shoulder straps would have done damage to my kids' necks had they not been lifted higher by the boosters. Big car or no, if your car stops all of a sudden, you're going to get thrown forward hard.
Totally agree. To be clear, I am very much in favor of booster seats. It's amazing the simple things that were not thought of much until relatively recently. My wife talks about how the first thing that her grandfather did with each new Cadillac he bought (every three years) was to cut out the back seatbelts. They were a nuisance. Our parents and grandparents often tease us for being so protective and "wonder how we ever survived to adulthood".
Well, I guess I'm in favour of booster seats too, but the ever increasing requirements in safety, education, etc scare me. I sometimes wonder if I could cope being a parent when the time comes! I can't help but ask "what's next" sometimes!
I mean, I see parents on TV shows making a big deal in going to see their kids' football game and I'm like what?.....When I was a kid, kids games were considered kids games.....a lot of kids were even in boarding school!
Ahightower, LOL! Your grand-daddy-in-law used to cut the rear seatbelts? LMAO! That's funny!
Most vehicles (GM, anyway) have loops to run the shoulder belt through for children in the outboard rear seat positions. My six year old could ride without the booster and have the shoulder still positioned correctly using the ones in the three I've owned most recently. The booster we have IS the recommended (backless) Grace Turbobooster though. I like the way it positions the lap portion of the seatbelt versus without a booster (not that I think our car lap belt fits too high without it though).