When choosing a seat to keep your child safe while en route what things do you look for?
A nice pattern? versatility? Safety Rating?
When I bought my car seat the thing I looked for was how long it would keep my son safe (weight restrictions), the company’s recall track record, safety features such as increased impact absorption.
Ease of installation was NOT on my list. It doesn’t matter to me how easy it is to install the seat. ALL I want to know is that once it’s in place that it will keep my son as safe as possible.
The U.S. has created a ridiculous system that rates car seats on the ease of installation, not safety track records or additional safety features.
The car seats are given an overall star rating, as well as individual star ratings in four categories — securing the child, vehicle installation features, labeling and instructions. Five stars represent the highest rating and one star the lowest rating.
I feel that this system is a bit misleading because anything that is rated a five-star is perceived to be an outstanding product. This may not be the case under the new rating system. A seat rated five-stars could just latch in better that it’s counterpart, but not provide any extra safety features to keep the child safe.
I think that they should go back to the drawing board and come back to us with a rating system that means something. I can’t help but feel like the government doesn’t want to get right into it and open a can of worms about federal safety standards.
There are so many car seats on the market that go above and beyond to make their seats safe for a longer period of time. Some are made with stronger materials and have better impact absorption.
If the government wanted to make a difference they would create a rating system that show all seats meet federal safety standards, but this group has added features to keep your child extra safe.
