Indiana Child Injury – Side-Impact Testing Coming for Car Seats

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking to better protect your child in the event of an accident. Officials recently proposed upgrades to the current vehicle safety standards regarding child-restraint systems. The new measures would, for the first time, test their efficiency in side-impact tests for seats that carry children weighing up to 40 pounds.

“As a father of two, I know the peace of mind this proposed test will give parents,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Our child injury lawyers in Highland understand that car seats are a child’s best defense against injury and death in the event of a motor vehicle collision. It’s not only critical that parents are selecting the proper seat for their child and that it’s being used correctly, but that manufacturers are making these seats to be as safe as possible. With this new testing system, we’ll be able to know just how safe they are when it comes to side-impact collisions.

With the new test, officials would simulate a side-impact accident, showing how effective these seats are in protecting a child when a vehicle door intrudes and to see how effective they are at minimizing the forces upon the child’s chest and head. Officials with the NHTSA believe that this test is going to be able to save lives and prevent more than 60 child injuries a year.

The new test would simulate a “t-bone” accident. In this scenario, a vehicle that travels at 30 miles per hour would hit into another small passenger vehicle traveling at 15 miles per hour. Research shows that many child deaths and injuries in side-impact crashes involve a car carrying children that is stopped at an intersection, usually at a light or stop sign, when another care decides to accelerate through the intersection.

In addition to the new test, officials will also be introducing a 3-year-old child dummy. Currently, they’re only testing the effectiveness of these seats with a 12-month-old child dummy, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Car seat manufacturers will have roughly 3 years to make any kind of changes needed to meet the proposed requirements.

Without careful installation, these children are subjected to serious injuries and even death in the event of a collision. When you get a new car seat for your child, your urged to read the car seat’s instruction manual, plus the car seat installation portion of of your vehicle’s owner’s manual. Each car seat must be installed using either the lower anchors of the LATCH system or the seat belt in order to secure it in place. If you opt to use a seat belt to install your car seat, pay close attention to how to lock your seat belt in the vehicle owner’s manual. Since every car seat and vehicle will vary, it’s important to follow all the instructions carefully.

Indiana Injury Attorney Burton A. Padove handles car accident claims throughout northern Indiana, including Gary, Hammond and Calumet City. Call toll-free at 877-446-5294.

More Blog Entries:

Indiana Highway Accident Leaves 3 Dead, Dozens Injured, Indiana Injury and Family Lawyer Blog, January 24, 2014

ATV Accidents in Highland a Risk of Child Injury, Indiana Injury and Family Lawyer Blog, July 13, 2012