Most Infant Car Seats Flunk Crash Tests

Consumer Reports: Many Performed 'Disastrously'; Only Two Made Grade

(CBS/AP)  Most of the infant car seats tested by Consumer Reports "failed disastrously" in crashes at speeds as low as 35 mph, the magazine reported Thursday.

The seats came off their bases or twisted in place, the report said. In one case, a test dummy was hurled 30 feet.

Of the 12 car seats tested, Consumer Reports said it could recommend only two, and it urged a federal recall of the poorest performing seat, the Evenflo Discovery.

Evenflo issued a statement disputing the tests' validity, saying, "The magazine's test conditions and protocols appear to conflict with the collective experience of car seat manufacturers, NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and the scientific community."

To be sold in the United States, an infant seat must perform adequately in a 30 mph frontal crash, and Consumer Reports found that all but the Discovery did so. But it noted that NHTSA crash tests most cars at higher speeds — 35 mph for frontal crashes and 38 mph for side crashes — so the magazine tested the seats at those speeds.

"It's unconscionable that infant seats, which are designed to protect the most vulnerable children, aren't routinely tested the same as new cars," said Consumer Reports' senior director of product safety and consumer science, Don Mays.

Carmakers have improved the crash protection of vehicles as a result of the 38 mph tests, but there hasn't been any incentive to do it for child car seats due to the 30 mph standard, Mays told co-anchor Hannah Storm on The Early Show Friday.

"Those are actually disappointing results," he remarked to Storm.

NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason issued a statement saying: "We are always interested in making car seats better and safer but not more complicated and difficult for parents. ... We don't want consumers misled into thinking holding a child is better than putting it into a car seat."

Nine seats failed some or all of the higher-speed tests, Consumer Reports said, while meeting the federal 30 mph standard. Another seat was judged unacceptable because it did not fit well in several cars, the magazine said.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group.

The magazine tested the type of seat that faces the rear and snaps in and out of a base. It used test dummies weighing 22 or 30 pounds, depending on the seat manufacturers' claims.

In the 35 mph test, seats separated from their bases, rotated too far or would have inflicted grave injuries, Consumer Reports said. At 38 mph, four seats flew out of their bases, it said.

The only seats that passed all the tests were the Baby Trend Flex-Loc and the Graco SnugRide with EPS — expanded polystyrene foam — both selling for about $90. Consumer Reports urged parents shopping for seats to buy one of those two, but it also noted that "any child car seat is better than no seat at all."

It also said some seats performed better when attached by vehicle safety belts than when attached with the LATCH system. The system, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, includes belts that hook the base of a car seat to metal anchors in the vehicle.

To read the entire Consumer Reports article describing the tests, click here.

[psuk2skier]

AND for Hermit22...

I'm not sure how strong you are but lets do some simple mathematical calculation to see...if you were riding along in your car and you were to somehow end up in a crash, lets say you rear ended someone, or hit a tree, or some solid object at 30 MPH (which isn't too fast and could definitely occur) and you or your passenger were holding your 15 pound child in your arms, then Newton's Second Law would come into play that states "an object in motion will remain in motion until it reaches some other object to reduce this movement"...the formula F=ma (force = Mass * acceleration)...so to simplify this calculation...Force you need to hold in your arms during the crash described above = 15 pounds * 30 MPH....leading to 450 lbs of force...are you that strong?..that object that was mentioned above in Newton%u2019s second law could be the dashboard or the windshield%u2026please use car seats, even if you think they take away from %u201Cmama time%u201D, they truly do save children%u2019s lives.

[psuk2skier]

Dear ncolsen,
Lets start with the fact that your original post was removed from this site because of its invalid and unsupported statements, so that really supports your case nicely.As I mentioned before, I'm sure that your car seat was in there as tight as possible, and that is would not move one bit, in ANY direction if you were ever in a crash (which I am assuming you and your improperly installed car seat and your child were never in, but we do know that you crash your old cars into trees with bowling balls in your car seats...and your newly born child is so similar to a bowling ball...good comparison on that one buddy) it would not have moved at all and all the force would have gone through your childs body, as opposed to being absorbed by the one end (the end not secured by the cars seat belt) of the car seat riding up and then down to absorb the energy of the crash. Physically, a child under one year old and 20 pounds is not developed enough to withstand the forces of a crash if they are forwarding facing, that is why we do not put them in a "nascar 4 point harness system"...as adults, our collar bones and pelvis are fully developed and the best places to for a seat belt, but children under 1 year old do not have this luxury and their strongest part of the body is their back...thus, why we have them rearward-facing in a properly installed car seat and not in nascar 4 point harnesses...perhaps reading the manual would have helped you install your child's car seat properly...

[hermit22]

After the big crash,in court the train tracks watchman said, oh yes he was out there waving his warning lamp, but after court, said he was so relieved the lawyer hadn't asked him if the lamp was lit.

You can't see the warning, when the lamp ain't lit.

[franklinsaft]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) done not recommend and secondary (after market) devices for use to supplement latches or seat belts (1. They are not safety tested and approved no matter what the manufacturer's literature states. (2. It invalidates the warranty and guarantee of the original child seat or vehicle product.

[franklinsaft]

Although Consumer Reports has released a report regarding unsafe Child Safety Seats, parents should not panic. I have been a Child Passenger Safety Technician trained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and have been inspecting and installing child seats for over 7 years now. NHTSA, Safe Kids, and the National Safety Council are not making public statements as they do not want to create a panic as the Consumer Reports has done. Infants and children in a properly installed child safety seat are safer than riding in no child seat at all. The best pratice is to have the child safety seats inspected. To find the closest car seat check location go to www.nhtsa.gov and look up the closest car seat check location. The safest child seat is the properly installed car seat.

[hermit22]

Stick your kid in a bucket. Does this make any sense? Has there been any study on if they make the next generation anti social? Stuck off in a bucket? I've thought for years, they were just a waste of good mama time, when a kid should be held in human arms, not stuck off into a bucket!

Safe roads, NO DRUNKS, driving lessons, no fighting in the car, no smoke, paying attention,no road rage etc. are the things that mean for safty on the road, not these silly buckets!

Those silly buckets are a good way for the local police to make afew bucks on FINES if the kid isn't strapped in, and good income for the bucket makers, but what a WASTE of good mama time when the family is tooling down the road.Waste of thousands of hours of good Mama time,or big sister or Grandpa or....

When those babies should be held out flat in Mama's arms, they are slumping in a heap in those crazy buckets! Have their little backs been checked? NECK PAIN? Do they wake up more cranky than if a human held them? Do held babies bond with their human parents more than bucket babies?

Oh Ya, and don't forget the FLAT heads those kids get that are stuck in the bucket too long!and those crazy stollers too....anti social, teach the kids nothing more than all sorts of feet walking by. A Baby needs to see the world from Dad's Elbow height!

[aatkins1972]

I have the Evenflo Aura Traditions infant car seat that came with the stroller. I want to know if it is safe or will it be on recall too? I have a six month old I want to protect!!

[nicoleharbst]

I have a son who is getting ready to upgrade to the first year carseat. I have the Graco snug ride car seat right now.. HOW SAFE IS THAT??? and do you have any requests of which one i could use to protect my son 100%?

To: psuk2skier

Ok jerkwad, where do you think that the carseat is attached? The seat belts right? Where are the seat belts attached? The frame of the car right? Using my method of restraining the carseat was far the best solution. My solution is equivalent to NASCAR 4 point seatbelt systems, perhaps NHTSA could get a few pointers from them.

[weaveshell23]

Hi, my daughter is 15 months old and we have the Graco Comfort Sport. I was wondering if this carseat was safe for her. Please let me know and if it is not, could you please tell me what the top rated car seats are for her age. Thank you

[kbedwards23]

I am getting ready to purchase a Graco SnugRide-Castleton. I'm not sure if it has the EPS or not. I have searched the Graco site and could not find that information. Are all of the Graco SnugRide seats safe or just the ones with the EPS?

I am also looking at purchasing the Eddie Bauer Deluxe and Elite. What can you tell me about those?

[formada-2009]

In your report you stated the Graco SnugRide with EPS did pass your test, but I'm questioning Graco's newest seat the Graco SafeSeat. Did you test the SafeSeat as well and did it compair to the SnugRide? I'm purchasing the SafeSeat at this time and would like to switch to the SnugRide if you did infact test both and the SnugRide was better. I would like to know the answer. Thank you!

[couricsux]

as an aside to any canadians reading this article, I know of no where that you can take your carseat to be inspected... everyone is far too worried about liability that even the firestations will not take a look at it. Only way you can really have it checked is manage to drive through a carseat checkstop which happen so rarely in this day and age.

And to mr or mrs camaro driver, I really hope you aren't talking about putting your baby in a carseat in the front bucket seats... sell your car and buy something a little more kid minded if you are cause that definitely would not have your baby's best interests in mind.

[couricsux]

as an aside to any canadians reading this article, I know of no where that you can take your carseat to be inspected... everyone is far too worried about liability that even the firestations will not take a look at it. Only way you can really have it checked is manage to drive through a carseat checkstop which happen so rarely in this day and age.

And to mr or mrs camaro driver, I really hope you aren't talking about putting your baby in a carseat in the front bucket seats... sell your car and buy something a little more kid minded if you are cause that definitely would not have your baby's best interests in mind.

[madduck1989]

If you think that your carseat is not properly installed, call your local fire or police deparments and ask if they do inspections. If Baby's-r-us is in your area they may have a list of who will do these inspections. They may only do an inspection one day a week or month, but it usually is free and there is someone who will let you know if your carseat is installed properly.

[jarobl]

I have the Graco Spree 52 Days of Hunny/Wiinie the Pooh car seat. Do you know if this particular car seat was tested and if so what were the results??

Thanks,
Concerned Nana

[minminno]

I have a few questions for anyone who is NHTSA certified. Is there such a thing as having the carseat in too tight? Should there be a little movement? The ;ast is, well, I have a seatbelt latching device that I use on the seatbelt to help hold it tight after the carseat is fastened in. It is is blue and yellow and has a lever to get the seatbelt tighter and tighter. Now Evenflo told me they don't recomend using them because they don't test with those. they only test with the metal clip that comes with the carseat. Are those latching devices ok to use?

[eeyore72474]

I have a 6 month old and have the graco safe seat. I would like to know what tests did they perform that it failed. Reason being that a lot of car seats (including mine) say that they are safe to use with out the base, so if they are saying that the seat is coming apart from the base at 30mph and up, should we just use the seat and not the base????

[minminno]

I called Evenflo a few minutes ago and they said the Discovery carseats have not been recalled. They said it passed all of their tests and they are trying to get the information on how the carseats were tested by Consumer Reports. They told me that when they test a car crash at 30 mph, it is like hitting a parked car going 80 mph. To me, it is scary to see that this carseat performed as one of the worse because I have one too. I have had it since 2003 for my middle child and now for my two month old.

[psuk2skier]

I have to make a comment on the post made by ncolsens...I am NHTSA certified Car Seat Technician and the statements that this person made about how they "properly" installed their car seat are the furthest thing from the proper way to install a car seat...Putting together a hodge podge of seat belts that are bolted to the actual car seat and the car frame is completely absurd and incorrect. Car seats are designed to withstand the forces of a crash while utilizing the cars original seat belt or the LATCH system. If you attempt to install a car seat like this individual, there is a good chance that all the force of the crash will go through your childs body, as opposed to being absorbed by the "ride down" of the car seat during the crash...I am writing this so that new or experienced parents will not be misinformed and think that they have to bolt their car seat to the frame of their car and possibly perform their own crash test with a bowling ball and some trees...please follow the directions and guidelines in your car seat and car's manuals.