New Program Will Match Children's Car Seats with Appropriate Vehicles

Sandy Grinnell

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After the Chicago Tribune found that not all child restraint seats perform the same way in different vehicles, on Friday the U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a new system whereby automakers would test each of the childrens car seats in their own vehicles. The automakers would then be able to recommend child restraint seats for each model at various price points.

The Tribune found National Highway Traffice Safety Administration (NHTA) test results on car seats buried in voluminous 2008 vehicle crash tests reports. Those test results showed that almost half of the infant car seats "failed catastrophically or exceeded injury liimits when federal inspectors installed them in 2008 cars and trucks and crashed them at 35 miles per hour."

“Infants and children are our most precious cargo,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We need to constantly improve our track record and help parents to choose a child seat that fits in their vehicle.”

To look at the 2008 NHTSA crash test results, go to www.chicagotribune.com/testresults. All brands of car seats are listed with the various automobiles. If you click on the blue test number, you can see more details and pictures.