Safest Car Seats – You May Be Shocked

Posted by Jayna Ginny on March 27, 2008
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In the United States, car seat companies’ products must pass certain crash test and safety ratings in order to be sold on the market.

Despite these regulations, not all car seats are created equal, and there is no way we can find out which are the safest car seats based on these tests; manufacturers aren’t legally required to release this information. But at the very least, we can be assured that each car seat sold in the United States meets or exceeds the regulations.

Each year, Consumer Reports does do independent crash test ratings of car seats. It should be noted, however, that these tests are often discounted by scientists for various reasons, including past mistakes, and what they consider poor reporting and poor parameters. However, it may be a good starting point.

Consumer Reports has written about its top picks over the years. Do remember, however, that even the safest car seat in the world is only as safe as the user. If you don’t install it properly or use it properly each time your child rides in the car, then of course it’s not safe.

Consumer Reports’ most recent test included eleven rear-facing infant car seats. It was a retest of the previous year’s test, which had some errors. All eleven seats met governmental crash test standards when attached using the seat belt and when using the LATCH.

(LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children.) Again, we find the United States’ pass/fail system fails to provide us a “best” and “worst” model.

Consumer Reports addresses this problem by trying to identify the safest car seats. They do it by rating the car seats on Ease of Use and Fit to Vehicle. These two things will have an enormous impact on the safety of car seats.

You won’t be able to install the car seat safely if it doesn’t fit properly in the car. If the car seat is difficult to install, someone is more likely to install it improperly and unsafely.

Using these guidelines, Consumer Reports rated the Chicco Key Fit as the safest car seat. The second safest car seat was the Britax Companion.

For the Best Buys, Consumer Reports deemed Baby Trend Flex-Loc and Graco SnugRide as having the best value and features for your money.

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