Safety Squad on NBC: More reaction to the Chicago Tribune article

Here are some points we need to make relating to the NBC piece.

1. They needed to pack a lot into a very small time frame.

2. The SafeSeat did not "fail" their tests. It detached from the base one time in their tests. Investigators were unable to replicate it again.

3. All car seats currently available in stores pass NHTSA's mandated tests. This includes most of the seats from the suspect tests. Check out our helpful links below to see if your seat is recalled.

4. Although we mention the basic difference between the sled test and the crash test being investigated, it's important to note that the NHTSA sled test is designed to be more severe than 95% of real-world crashes.

5. Many entities, including some car seat manufacturers, are questioning the validity of these new crash tests. They argue that the car seats may not be installed properly.

6. Since these new tests are still being investigated it is unclear what will come out of them. If they lead to improved car seat tests that's a good thing for parents.

7. In the meantime, unless your car seat is recalled, correct use of it based on quality instruction from a child passenger safety tech remains the best way to keep your baby safe on the road.

Here is a great online resource to help you get your seat registered and check it for recalls. We use it a lot. You can check your car for recalls there as well.

Comments

[Indie]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that you are advising parents to do nothing until the manufacturers see fit to issue a recall. This is not acceptable to me. If I had a child in an infant seat I would move that child to a convertible seat after watching these crash test videos. Why should I put my child at risk, not to mention the risk to my other children and other passengers in the car if the seat becomes a projectile, when there is an alternative (a convertible seat) that has not been shown to become detached in a crash? Frankly, I don't care if the type of crash simulated is rare.

I also don't like the assumption that the seats were installed incorrectly. I think this is just an excuse on the part of the manufacturers. If a technician preparing a crash test can't pop an infant seat into its base correctly then how on earth can we expect that a parent will do so each and every time multiple times a day? If it is so difficult to put these infants seats in that the technicians managed to mess up for multiple crash tests then the seats need to be recalled simply because they are too difficult for any normal human being to use. Please don't insult our intelligence.

Lastly, just for the record, I install all of my own children's seats and each and every time that I have had them checked by a CPST they have found them to be installed correctly.

[Safety Squad]

Indie,

Thanks for your response. Please see the blog main page for your a reply.