While child safety restraints (e.g. car seats, booster seats) can significantly impact your child’s safety if you are involved in a serious auto accident, a new study reveals that your child may not be nearly as safe as you think. Child safety restraints may be limited in their effectiveness at keeping your children safe in a collision by compatibility issues that cause an improper fit between the vehicle seat and the child safety restraint. Despite revised legal standards enacted a decade ago requiring use of an attachment system referred to as LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), a recent report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found that seven vehicle completely failed to comply with the standards.
The LATCH system was made mandatory after traffic safety experts determined that many car seats do not fit properly in vehicle seat, or they are difficult to install because of compatibility issues. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a report almost a decade ago in which it found that almost 75 percent of child safety restraints and booster seats had “critical misuse” problems that could cause injury or increase the severity of injury during a car accident.
Vehicles were evaluated based on whether the car seat anchors were clearly visible and easy to use without applying excess force. The tests revealed that the buckle of seat belts and other seatbelt hardware often obstruct the child safety restraint anchors. The seatbelt anchor can also sit so low in the car seat that they are difficult to access when installing the child car seat or booster seat. The study also revealed that many parents may need more clear instructions on proper use of child safety restraints because they do not realize the importance of attaching the upper tether. This can be a crucial error because the car seat or booster seat may jerk too far forward during a collision resulting in severe injuries to the head or neck of the child.
The results of the tests reveal that compliance with the LATCH system is still poor, which is reflected by the fact that only 21 percent of vehicles tested met all the requirements for the LATCH system. Seven of the vehicles failed ALL of the requirements. The complexity of assuring a safe fit between a safety restraint and the bench seat or bucket seat is compounded by the multitude of child safety restraint models and manufacturers. Government safety experts recognize the importance of the two industries working together to reduce compatibility issues and improve the safety of children in auto accidents.
If your child has been injured in a car accident in Mississippi, our experienced Mississippi car accident attorneys have the experience to investigate accidents involving children and determine if a lack of compatibility or other car seat defect played a role in your child’s injuries. At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi. Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.