Dulaney, Lauer & Thomas Blog

New car seat rating system launched

A little over thirty years ago the first car seats came on the market in the United States.  Those of us who were around back then know how what a huge impact these seats made on child safety, and they can certainly be considered one of the top safety innovations of all times.

The Transportation Department has just unveiled its new five-star rating system for car seats, which focuses on rating each seat’s ease-of-use.  The ratings have four components: instructions, installation, labels, and how easy it is to secure your child in the seat.

But don’t rush out to buy a new seat yet based just on the five-star rating.  Officials have stressed that the new ratings only assess ease-of-use, and do not rate how effective a seat is in protecting a child in a crash.  While this may seem surprising, keep in mind that parents really struggle with installing seats correctly, and improperly installed seats and incorrect use of the child safety harness are major causes for concern.

Looking for more car seat information?  Visit the NHTSA’s Child Transportation Safety Tips page.  Tell us what you think, will this new rating system help?

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