31 Booster Seats Recommended In 2011 In USA
23.02.12
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has included a record 31 booster seats designated
"Best Bets" - these seats position a safety belt on an average 4 to 8 year old child in virtually any car, SUV or minivan. Their prices range from under $15 to several hundred. The Institute also added 5 Good Bets, which provide adequate belt fit in the majority of vehicles.
A booster seat is used for a child who is now too big for forward-facing child restraints. With a booster seat, the child should be elevated and the lap and shoulder belts of the car should be correctly positioned so that the child is restrained in the event of a collision.
Some booster seats are better at doing this than others. The difficulty for purchasers is that they cannot determine which ones are the best by simply comparing prices or features.
Source: Medical News Today
Study Shows Seat Belt Misuse Among 4 to 9 Year Olds
23.02.12
Parents reported using seat belts for 334 (37 percent) of 4- to 9-year-old child passengers. And, of those, 78 percent of the drivers reported improper belt fit, with improper shoulder belt position accounting for 44 percent and improper lap belt position for 62 percent. At least one improper belt position was reported by about 78 percent of drivers, which, the researchers concluded, is the most important finding of the analysis: “Children who are prematurely restrained in an adult seat belt that does not fit properly are at increased risk of injury to the head, spine, and abdomen. Although improper lap belt positioning was more common, of greater clinical concern is that almost one-half of children were reported to have improper shoulder belt positioning. Our findings are consistent with laboratory evidence that demonstrates incorrect belt positioning is commonly the result of a mismatch between child body proportions and rear seat belt geometry.
Source: The Safety Record
