South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics made new recommendations for parents to keep children in rear-facing safety restraints until age two or until they reach the maximum height or weight restrictions designated on the car seat dictated by the manufacturer.

Our Fort Myers injury lawyers know that booster seats and child safety seat restraints are a child's only saving grace in most Naples car accidents involving small children riding in the vehicle. Annual testing for crash protection and perfect fit becomes all that more important in determining which products are the most recommended by the experts and will keep your children injury-free if an accident occurs.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently rated booster seats to help parents whose children have grown past the rear-facing and forward-facing car seat phases, feel more at ease for their child's safety while riding in a vehicle.

This year's list is comprised of a record high 31 'best bet' seats which typically range in price from $15 to several hundred dollars. A child booster seat is classified as a 'best bet' when the seat belt fits appropriately in any car, SUV or minivan for a child between the ages of 4 and 8 years-old. Five seats were added to the list as 'good bets' and six others were not recommended at all.

Booster seat ratings began in 2008, deeming only 10 'best bets' that year. Last year, 21 seats were classified as a 'best bet'. Seats were rated on belt fit, not how they performed in a crash test. Booster seat manufacturers have begun using the Institute's test protocols to update and improve the design which has had an impact on rating the last few years.

In order to evaluate, a test dummy representing the height and weight of a 6 year-old is used. Engineers measure how the shoulder restraint and lap belt fit the dummy in each seat. The lap belt should be positioned on a child's upper thigh while lying flat across the leg. The shoulder strap should lie across a child's shoulder. When positioning is too high or too low it usually translates to a child moving it behind their head or below their arm because it is uncomfortable to leave it in its current position.

Some parents like the advantage of purchasing a dual-use booster. However, parents need to be careful because some dual-use seats are rated 'best bets' in one mode but when you change it over to the other mode it isn't rated as high. For example, the Evenflo Big Kid Sport is rated 'best bet' for the backless mode but receives a 'check fit' rating for the highback mode. The Harmony Dreamtime is the only dual-use seat on the market that received a 'best bet' rating for both modes. The Combi Kobuk Air Thur received a 'good bet' rating for both the backless and highback modes.

Consumers are urged to check model numbers and manufacture dates when using the Institute's ratings because some booster seats are redesigned or refurbished and use the same name but aren't rated the same as before after the changes are made.

If you need to review child restraint seats matched up to the recommended age and weight requirements, visit Healthy Children online for more information.