New federal safety standards now in effect for child car seats

New federal standards for child car seats took effect Monday to address side-impact crash tests, minimum child weight labels, school bus-specific restraint requirements and more.

The long-awaited upgrades by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will make car seats easier to use for caregivers and provide greater protection to children, according to Consumer Reports.

Danielle Kessenger, a child passenger safety technician for nearly 20 years at THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Children, said the minimum child weight labels will help people be less confused about when they should face forward or backward. That means all companies making car seats must now start testing them using lap-and-shoulder seat belts instead of a seat belt that just goes over the lap.

“It’s important because it mirrors what we have in our current vehicle fleet on the road,” Kessenger said.

“NHTSA’s updates to the federal car seat standards are key to protecting the most vulnerable vehicle occupants,” said Emily A. Thomas, manager of auto safety at Consumer Reports. “We are pleased with the changes they have finally implemented as it raises the bar for child passenger safety to meet the real-world crash and vehicle environments today’s children can encounter.”

Consumer Reports tests and rates over 100 car seats for safety in a crash, fit in vehicles, and ease of use. CR and other safety organizations have been calling for significant improvements to the NHTSA car seat requirements for years.

CR said the safety standard upgrades address a number of issues, including:

• Updating the test bench to better reflect the geometry and stiffness of modern vehicle seats.

• Establishing test conditions and performance minimums for child seats in a side impact test.

• Introducing test conditions using a lap-and-shoulder seat belt rather than a lap belt only.

• Requiring product labels to specify important child weight minimums for each usage mode.

• Using test dummies that best represent the weight ranges where child seats are most commonly used.

• Updating owner registration program requirements to encourage greater compliance and ensure consumers get critical information in the event of a recall.

• Adding school bus-specific child restraint system requirements.

“We know that it’s for the safety of children,” Kessenger said. “One of the things I do know is we’re going to see booster seats starting at 40 pounds at the minimum now which is great because we want kids to be protected by the five-point harnesses we have.”

“Parents and caregivers deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing a car seat is rigorously tested to comply with strong safety rules,” said Gabe Knight, safety policy analyst for Consumer Reports. “While NHTSA could have gone further, this improved safety standard is a crucial step forward. We urge car seat manufacturers to hit the ground running and meet the new requirements as soon as possible.”

Kessenger also said that just because there are new car seat standards doesn’t mean the one in your car is now unsafe. As long as it’s not expired, it still meets federal regulations throughout the car seat lifespan.

Kessenger said people should avoid buying car seats from a random person on social media.

“It’s really important to buy the car seat you know the history of,” Kessinger said. “You can’t possibly know the history of a car seat you buy secondhand.” She added that you can’t always tell if it’s been in a crash and that could mean you’re putting your child in danger.

Learn more about how CR tests child car seats and how to choose a car seat.

According to CR, NHTSA’s changes are the first time that side-impact protection will be evaluated on an equal playing field. Previously, the labels on car seats that indicate some level of side-impact protection have been based on a variety of tests performed by each child seat manufacturer.

Once implemented, federal side-impact requirements will set a minimum level of performance nationwide in standardized side-impact tests.

Other than the revised labeling and registration cards, many of NHTSA’s changes won’t be evident to consumers. But they are a vital step forward to assure parents and caregivers that their child seats must be tested to provide a minimum standard of safety, CR said.

If you need help on knowing how to install one of the car seats or need help affording one THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Children can help.