Children are seriously injured and killed in vehicle collisions because of defective child safety seats. By overlooking a defective manufacturing or design feature in the child seat hundreds of children are endangered every time they are in a vehicle. Most vehicles are not equipped for child safety seats and combined with defective manufacturing and designs, consumers are putting their children at high risk for deadly injuries.
Child safety seats run into defects ranging from the design to the manufacturing. Most design defects in child safety seats are relating to the buckles, harnesses, shell designs, and the padding within the seat. When collisions occur, defective designs endanger the child by not properly containing them in the seat and throwing them around the vehicle, causing head injuries and full ejection from the child safety seat. Manufacturing problems are caused by defective harnesses and other plastic parts, leading to ejections and excessive movement within the car.
Safety Measures
Tethers are the straps on the seat belt that attach to the top of the safety seat to the back of the vehicle’s rear dash and provide a solution to the instability of child safety seat that can result in the child being thrust around and the seat falling over. Despite the fact that tethers have been around for about 30 years now they are still not required. This safety strap can prevent the safety seat from falling over and allowing the child to injure them on the interior of the car by better securing the seat. Some safety seats have too loose of a strap and combined with an incompatible vehicle interior it never properly restrains the seat and thus the child.
Preventive Measures
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and in conjunction with the American Academy of Pediatrics, they agree that certain measures should be taken to better ensure the safety of children in child safety seats. Depending on the weight of the child, guardians should adjust how the child rides in a vehicle. A child under twenty pounds in weight should be put in a rear facing infant or convertible child safety seat. When the child grows to around twenty and forty pounds and/or is older than one year of age, a forward facing convertible child safety seat is suitable. A child between the weight of forty and sixty pounds should have a child safety seat with a lap and shoulder belt harness along with a booster seat with belt positioning. Any child under the age of twelve should not ride in the front seat. The combination of a shoulder belt along with the lap belt is important. Some older vehicles do not have both a shoulder belt and lap belt combination, but wearing only a lap belt is dangerous.
If you have a question regarding the seat model you use or a recall issue, you should contact the manufacturer.
