July 13, 2021
Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney
General Aaron D. Ford joined a 18-state coalition calling on the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to take stronger measures to protect
children while traveling in car seats. NHTSA is the federal agency within the
U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates child car seats.
In a letter sent to the NHTSA and the
Department of Transportation, the coalition asks NHTSA to implement side-impact
testing standards for child car seats as quickly as possible, after 20 years of
delay that has unacceptably endangered children’s safety. The coalition further
urges the NHTSA to require that all child car seat labels include clear,
concise language conveying a principal that all child car safety experts
(including NHTSA) endorse—that every child remain in his or her current seat
until exceeding its height or weight maximum.
“No parent should have to worry if the car seat
they purchased will work properly,” said AG Ford. “Safety measures for
our children should never be delayed and for that reason, I’m holding the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration accountable.”
Congress first called upon the NHTSA to adopt
side-impact standards for child car seats in 2000. Over 20 years later, there
are still no such standards. Manufacturers do conduct their own side-impact
testing (and often advertise those efforts prominently), but without federal
standards, consumers cannot trust this testing to keep their children safe. Few
consumers realize that side-impact testing is not currently regulated by the NHTSA
or any other government entity. As a result, they may misplace their trust in
manufacturers’ claims about side-impact testing, assuming that government
regulators have imposed minimum requirements on those claims when they have not
done so.
Side-impact crashes cause almost as many child
injuries and deaths as frontal-impact crashes. And side-impact crashes are more
likely than other types of crashes to cause serious or fatal injuries.
The coalition of 17 states also urges the NHTSA
to implement labeling standards that encourage parents to delay the transition
to the next car seat for as long as possible depending upon the height and
weight limits of the product. There are currently three major categories of car
seats—rear-facing seats with a five-point harness, forward-facing seats with a
five-point harness, and booster seats used in conjunction with a traditional
lap and shoulder seat belt. Determining which seat is appropriate for a child
depends on the height and weight limits for the seat in question, as well as
the child’s development and maturity level. Experts (including the NHTSA)
universally agree that children should delay transition to the next seat in the
progression for as long as possible, until they exceed their current seat’s
height or weight limits.
Encouraged by marketing from car seat
manufacturers, parents and children may be understandably eager to move up to
the next seat in the progression as soon as children meet the minimum threshold
for the next seat—needlessly exposing children to heightened risk of injury in
car crashes. The coalition urges the NHTSA to require that car seat
manufacturers add clear guidance that is readily available to consumers
indicating that keeping your child in his car seat until he reaches the maximum
height or weight limit is the recommended, safest option.
The letter explains: “Motor vehicle crashes are
the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 13. Almost 5,000 children
under 15 have died in car crashes from 2015 to 2019, which equates to about 19
children each week over that time period. Since their introduction in the
1970s, child car seats have significantly reduced the risk of injury to
children, and numerous technological advances have made them safer over the
years. The NHTSA shares credit in this success, but as the data shows,
there is still room for improvement. And one such area in need of
improvement is making sure that parents use the most appropriate car seat given
their child’s weight, height, and age.”
In addition to Nevada, other states participating
in this letter include: California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of
Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New
Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The coalition’s letter is attached.
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