Earlier this month, consumer reports circulated a widely published study that tested twelve popular brands of infant car seats and reported that all of them “disastrously failed.” One Consumer Reports reporter says that, “The study showed that adults would be better protected than the infants who would be riding in those same cars.” I don’t know about you, but reading those statements sends a chill up my spine. I have five kids in car seats. Granted, they’re not in infant seats anymore, but I don’t care. It’s unsettling.
Consumer Reports found only two of the twelve seats they tested worth recommending and they are urging a recall of the Evenflo Discovery. But today, they are retracting their study. (Note: they are still urging the recall of the Evenflo Discovery. Evenflo is disputing the study.) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration challenged their study. They said that the research was conducted in such a way that it represented crashes at 70mph rather than the stated 35mph.
The NHSTA and others are worried that the report made parents afraid. They are concerned that parents will ditch their car seats. While I agree that the report was unsettling to those of us with infants, I would hardly ditch my car seat. Likewise, in addition to their retraction, Consumer Reports issued a statement urging parents to continue using their car seats. Consumer reports will conduct the study again and publish a new report as soon as possible.
I’m glad Consumer Reports did the test. I learned something that really changes the way I view safety standards for car seats. Did you know that while cars are tested for safety at 35mph for front collisions and 38mph for side collisions, car seats are only tested at 30mph? This is in fact the reason that Consumer Reports did the study. They feel like car seats should, at the minimum be held to the same standard as a car safety test. I do too. As a result of my brief research into this story, I plan on writing a concerned letter to the NHSTA urging them to change their standards and test car seats at 35mph and 38mph. I have included their contact information at the end of this blog if you’re interested in doing the same thing.
Not for Profit
I do want to point out that while it certainly seems like Consumer Reports goofed this one up. . .they are generally a reputable and credible agency. They refuse to take advertising dollars and they refuse to allow information from their reports in product advertising. In other words, this was not a meager attempt at more money. . .this was a mistake. I am sure that this hurt their credibility. However, I look forward with great interest to see the newly published report.
Contact Inforamtion for the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA Headquarters
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
Other concerned moms are discussing this in the forums!
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Is Your Child Safe in Your Car?
When You Can Get Rid of Her Car Seat