Changes to Child Car Seat Guidelines

 Posted on December 00,0000 in Car Accidents

Last week, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommended changes to the child car seat safety guidelines. The first of the two proposals requires that the current Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system, the standard car seat system implemented in 2002, alter the weight limit for their child safety seats. This would lower the maximum weight of the child user to 65 pounds (originally 70 pounds), taking into consideration the combined weight of the seat and the weight of the child. This proposal comes after significant testing showing that the LATCH system overloaded on impact during one of the tests that placed a 10-year-old, 77-pound dummy in a 30 mile per hour car crash.

 The NHTSA also proposed the implementation of new, testing standards - the use of the T-bone (or sled) test - which would evaluate the impact of a side crash on the car seat with children dummies of different ages and weights. These new weight requirements, as well as the implementation of the T-bone test, will hopefully shed light on the current debate on car seat safety: should we be focused on the weight, height, or age of our child when determining which car seat will be most effective? What also confounds the issue is that child car safety laws vary among states, thereby making it more difficult for a national standard to be put in place to be abided by car seat manufacturers. The question that has been plaguing parents for years has been: when do I switch my child from a car seat, to a seat booster with a seat belt, to an adult seat with a seat belt?

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, Illinois law requires the following:

• A child restraint is required for a child younger than the age of 8;
• An adult safety belt is permissible for children between the ages of 8-15, or as soon as they weigh 40 pounds, and they must be in the rear seats;
• Violation of either of these laws could entail a maximum fine of $75 for the first offense and $200 for every subsequent offense.
• Though these are the laws set out by Illinois, it may be important to review other sources to better understand child car safety. The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics put out an official policy statement on child passenger safety with the following evidence-based, best-practice recommendations:
• Until the age of 2 or until the child reaches the maximum weight or height allowed by the manufacturer, infants and toddlers should be placed in a rear-facing car safety seat (CSS);
• A forward-facing CSS with a harness should be used by all children who are older than 2 years old or who have surpassed the maximum weight or height of the rear-facing CSS, up until the weight/height requirements of the forward-facing CSS;
• A belt-position booster seat should be used when the child’s height or weight is above the maximum for the forward-facing CSS and up until the lap-and-shoulder seat belt of the vehicle fits over the child properly. This is usually when the child is between the ages of 8 and 12, and/or has reached 4 feet 9 inches in height.
• The lap-and-shoulder seat belts of the vehicle should be worn by the child once he/she is large enough to sit comfortably with the lap portion resting over the child’s hips and pelvis, and the shoulder portion resting over the middle of the child’s chest and shoulders;
• All children under the age of 13 should remain in the rear seats of the vehicle.

It is important that the NHTSA is reevaluating and proposing new standards for child car seats to help improve the chances that a child is optimally protected during a car crash. Though these new proposals are extremely important to ensure the safety of children passengers, there is still the possibility that defective products which have not been fully tested may be placed on the market, and at some point in your home. Approximately 1500 children under the age of 16 will die in automobile accidents each year, with half of these mortalities involving improperly restrained or unrestrained children passengers. If your child has been injured due to a defective product and/or in an automobile accident, feel free to contact one of our experienced personal injury attorneys who will be able to assist you. Contact our law offices today for further information.