IS YOUR CAR A GOOD MATCH FOR YOUR CHILD SAFETY SEAT?
A new study by Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center would say no, probably not. In this study of 50 car seats and 50 vehicles the conclusion was obvious: The seats and cars vary so radically that rarely do they make a perfect match without some vigorous adjusting by parents.
“The actual slope of the rear seat is at such an angle that if you just put the car seat in there naturally, the angle is not going to be in that correct area”, says the Center’s Dr. John Bolte. “You just want to have that base fit nicely in the seat and as tight to the frame of the car as you can”, he added.
If you have a question about your car seat installation you can check in with the Car Seat Inspectors (yes, they really do have these) at stations across the state of Texas. At these stations certified technicians will inspect your installation and correct it if necessary. Then they will instruct you as to how to install it the next time. To locate these stations go to: http://www.nhtsa.gov/apps/cps/map/findfitting.htm?q_State=TX&q_Zip=&Sp_Stations=on
But there may be good news on the horizon, thanks to computer models of new car seats from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The geometry of all major car seats was analyzed by their engineers and that information shared with major car makers. Hopefully that will result in a re-design of the back seats of certain models. So a better fit may be in the making!
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