Parents: Does Your Car Seat Fit?

Wed, 3/7/2018 - 9:43 pm by Kirsten Rincon

Child Car SeatChild car seats are an essential tool for keeping your children safe in the car. Car seats provide excellent protection in the event of a car accident. Because of their role, car seats come with strict regulations for design and installation.

Child Car SeatChild car seats are an essential tool for keeping your children safe in the car. Car seats provide excellent protection in the event of a car accident. Because of their role, car seats come with strict regulations for design and installation. But sadly, parents often fail to install car seats properly, which is one of the reasons why car accidents are the leading cause of death among children in the U.S.

Installing a car seat correctly can be complicated, as there are plenty of details that have to be taken into account, such as whether it should be facing rearward of forward, and what the correct harness position is. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that 3 out of 4 child safety seats are installed incorrectly. To help improve car seat safety, the NHTSA introduced the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system. The LATCH system defines the type, and the position, of the child-seat attachment points that car makers are required to install in all vehicles.

LATCH: Mandatory Anchor Points

A car that is equipped with a LATCH system will have two anchor points at the base of each rear seat, where the seat cushion meets the lower part of the seat back. The LATCH system also requires a tether anchor, to which a child -seat’s tether straps can be hooked. In addition to these attachment points, the LATCH system sets out rules imposing weight limits for child safety seats.

Exceeding Maximum Weight Restrictions

Car seat manufacturers are required to label the weight limit of their child safety seats. These limits explain the maximum weight the seat, and its connecting tethers, can support. However, manufacturers do not have to label the weight of the seat itself, which creates confusion among parents. Labeling does not make clear whether the maximum supported weight includes the weight of the seat itself. And in recent years, car seats have become much heavier; the average seat today can weigh as much as 20 – 25 pounds. Because parents fail to take the car seat’s weight into account, they often exceed safety limits. According to a survey conducted by the AAA Foundation, 85% of Child Passenger Safety Technicians found that parents exceed LATCH weight limits recommendations. AAA’s Director of Traffic Safety Research & Advocacy, Jake Nelson, said, “In the event of a crash, exceeded weight limits may cause the lower anchors and tether to perform improperly, leaving children vulnerable to injury or death”.

To improve, the NHTSA has proposed a new rule. The change will require car seat manufacturers to clearly label the seat’s maximum weight, which must include the weight of the child, and the car seat itself. Under the new rule, the combined weight of a car seat and a child should not exceed 65 pounds. The NHTSA hopes that this rule will help make it easier for parents to install child safety seats correctly, and provide the best possible protection for their children in case of an accident.

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