Marco SRS Air Bag Suspension

Universal Seat Belt

Is Your Child'S Booster Seat In Need Of A Better Fit?

MANY BOOSTER SEATS ARE IN NEED

OF IMPROVING SAFETY BELT FIT FOR CHILDREN

Booster seats are meant to elevate children so that safety belts designed for adults are in the right position to restrain kids during a crash. 

Thirteen of the 41 belt-positioning booster seats the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety evaluated with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute last October did such a poor job of improving the fit of lap and shoulder belts for children that the Institute doesn't recommend them at all. 

Ten models are best bets and 5 are good bets. These evaluations are the first to tell consumers how well boosters sold by US retailers improve belt fit for children in cars, minivans, and SUVs. The Institute plans to continue these assessments. 

"We evaluated the safety belt fit boosters provide, not crash protection," says Institute president Adrian Lund. "This is because unlike child restraints, boosters don't restrain children in crashes. They simply position children so lap and shoulder belts are in the right place to restrain them." Good boosters route belts across a child's bony parts, not soft parts like the abdomen, which is more vulnerable to injury. 

"We'd expect the 10 best bets to improve belt fit for children in almost any car, minivan, or SUV," Lund says. "Likewise, it's clear that kids in the 13 boosters we don't recommend aren't getting the full benefit of improved lap belt fit. These boosters may increase restraint use by making children more comfortable, but they don't position belts for optimal protection." 

Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute assessed 2 types of boosters, backless and highback, under conditions representing a range of 2001-06 model vehicles. Some highbacks convert to backless, and some boosters, called combination seats, can be used as child restraints. Highback and backless modes were evaluated separately because each mode affects how belts fit. 

More importance was assigned to lap belt fit. All of the best-bet boosters locate this belt on children's upper thighs. The main problem for the boosters that aren't recommended is they leave the lap belt partially or fully on the abdomen. Fit is important because a correctly positioned lap belt loads pelvic bones during a crash, not the abdomen. A good booster also positions the shoulder belt at midshoulder, keeping the webbing away from the neck so it won't chafe and reducing the likelihood that kids will endanger themselves by putting the belt behind their back or under an arm.

"Our data show it's possible to design a booster with good lap and shoulder belt fit," says Matt Reed, the study's lead author and research associate professor at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. "Boosters that can't do that should be redesigned."

Best Bets

• Graco TurboBooster backless with clip
• Fisher-Price Safe Voyage backless with clip
• Combi Kobuk backless with clip
• Fisher-Price Safe Voyage
• Britax Parkway
• LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear
• Safeguard Go backless with clip
• Volvo booster cushion
• Recaro Young Style
• Britax Monarch

Good Bets

• Graco TurboBooster
• Safety Angel Ride Ryte
• Recaro Young Sport
• Combi Kobuk
• Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65

 

Buchanan Insurance can help with questions about your child's booster seat fit.

For more information, contact us at http://www.buchananinsurance.net/contact.aspx

Copyright 2009  Buchanan Insurance Services, Inc.

May be reproduced and redistributed provided it is maintained in its entirety including all hyperlinks.

 

About the Author

Buchanan Insurance Services, Inc. offers Auto, Home, Life and Commercial Insurance and Home Mortgage Protection to Louisiana residents.

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