Rules sought to make child car seats safer

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Child car seats would for the first time have to protect children from death and injury in side-impact crashes under regulations the government proposed Wednesday.

The proposal by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would upgrade standards for child seats for children weighing up to 40 pounds to include a new test that simulates a side crash. The agency estimates the standards will prevent the deaths of about five children and injuries to 64 others each year.

“Car seats are an essential tool for keeping young children safe in vehicles, and they have a proven track record of saving lives,” NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman told a gathering of automotive engineers.

Under the proposal, the new tests will simulate a “T-bone” crash, where the front of a vehicle traveling 30 mph strikes the side of a small passenger vehicle traveling at 15 mph. NHTSA’s research has shown “these speeds will cover over 90 percent of the side-impact crashes seen in the real world,” Friedman said.