Consumer Reports Finds TwoChild Car Seats Perform Poorly in Crash Tests in RearFacing Latch Mode.

(From AScribe)

YONKERS, N.Y. -- Car seats are a must for children. Parents are strongly advised to keep infants in rear-facing car seats as long as possible. When Consumer Reports recently crash-tested rear-facing child car seats, most performed well. However, several did have significant safety problems when attached to the test rig using a LATCH connection system, rather than the vehicle seat belt. CR tested according to requirements of an imminent federal standard but used crash test dummies that matched the seat's claimed child-weight limits.

The Combi Avatar convertible seat was rated "Not Acceptable" when the LATCH strap connecting the rear-facing seat was completely cut and the seat lunged off the test rig, at a test speed below that which the government says car seats must withstand. CR urges the manufacturer of the Combi Avatar to fix the problem.

In addition, the Evenflo PortAbout 5 infant seat tumbled off its base at a crash speed just above the federal testing standard. Consumer Reports considers this margin of safety too narrow and has rated the Evenflo PortAbout 5 "Poor" for crash protection. Two other seats, the Britax Marathon convertible seat and the Combi Tyro infant seat, had less serious problems, tilting back too far on impact.

However, all four seats performed fine when tested using the vehicle seat belt to secure them. Consumer Reports advises parents who own these car seats to secure the seat to the vehicle using the safety belt rather than the LATCH system. LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) is a universal connection system for child car seats and passenger vehicles in which connectors on the car seat attach to metal anchors in the car.

Consumer Reports, the only organization in the U.S. to rate car seats for crash protection, also evaluates them for ease of use, and fit to vehicle. If CR finds a serious problem during crash testing, it will buy more units and test the seats further at two labs. In its May issue, CR reports on tests of eight infant car seats, nine convertible car seats, and 17 booster seats. (Note: the booster seat ratings, discussed briefly in CR, can be found only at www.ConsumerReports.org.)

All the car seats tested for this report have met existing federal standards. And federal data show no severe injuries reported related to the problems Consumer Reports discovered in the latest crash tests. The federal safety standard for child car seats is mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This agency currently requires that car seats pass a simulated head-on car crash at a 30 mph test-sled speed. Under the current NHTSA standard, the vehicle seat slopes at an 8-degree angle.