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Wednesday, June 11, 2003
NHTSA 24-03
Contact: Tim Hurd
Phone: (202) 366-9550
NHTSA
Announces “Ease of Use” Child Safety Seat Ratings
The
U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) today announced its initial set of ratings for child
safety seats based on their ease of use.
The
first-ever results were released at a news conference in Washington involving
NHTSA, Consumers Union, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Under NHTSA’s new rating
system, child safety seats – including booster seats – are given an overall
ease-of-use rating at the “A,” “B,” or “C” level.
Such letter grades are also used to rate seats in each of five
categories:
· Whether the seat is pre-assembled or requires assembly after purchase.
·
Clarity of labeling attached to the seat.
·
Clarity of written instructions on the seat’s proper use.
·
Ease of securing a child in the seat.
·
Whether the seat has features that make it easier to
install in a vehicle.
“The new rating system is not
only helpful to consumers, but also provides a strong market incentive to child
seat manufacturers to make further improvements to their products,” said NHTSA
Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. “Overall,
the ratings are positive, but there is room for improvement. Ultimately, we hope
all seats will achieve an “A” rating.”
To
date, 68 seats have been rated by NHTSA, representing about 95 percent of the
seats available to consumers. Convertible
seats were rated in both the rear-facing and forward-facing mode and combination
seats were rated in both the forward-facing and booster modes.
Thirty-nine overall “A” ratings were given and 68 overall “B”
ratings were given. While no seat
received an overall “C” rating, several received a “C” rating in one or
more individual rating categories.
The
new child safety seat ease-of-use rating system is in response to the
Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act
of 2000.
Also
at the news conference, the three organizations said that the new child safety
seat system known as “Lower Attachments and Tethers for Children” (LATCH) is
making child safety seats easier to use, but there are some implementation
issues that still need to be addressed. NHTSA,
Consumers Union and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety all indicated
that this system has made child safety seats easier to use.
However, all expressed concern that some new LATCH seats can be difficult
to install in certain vehicle models.
“With literally thousands of
combinations of vehicles and seats, it is understandable that some compatibility
issues would arise, particularly during the early years of the LATCH system
phase-in,” said Dr. Runge, noting that NHTSA plans to meet soon with
manufacturers to help identify and resolve any remaining compatibility issues.
Consumers
can access a list of current child safety seat ratings at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cssrating
. The ratings can be obtained by calling the NHTSAOffice of Communications and
Consumer Information (202-366-9550) or by phoning NHTSA’stoll free Auto Safety
Hotline (888-327-4236). They can
also be obtained by writing to NHTSAMedia Relations, Room 5232, 400 Seventh
Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590.