Every parent wants to assure that their child is as safe as possible. They want to know that if they are involved in a car accident, their child’s safety seat would protect them. Unfortunately, children are not always as protected as they could be – and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says there is a simple step car manufacturers could take to greatly increase the safety of safety seats.
Keep reading to find out what that step is and how you can keep your child as safe as possible. If you have been involved in an accident and you or your child was injured, contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to find out if you have legal options.
A Recent Study Found that Installing Safety Seats is More Difficult than it Needs to Be
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released a study that found that it is much more difficult to install the average child safety seat than it needs to be – even with guidelines given that were intended to help manufacturers make it easier to install them. This is a serious concern because even the best safety seat on the market is not going to provide adequate protection if it is not installed correctly.
The LATCH System Was Designed to Keep Kids Safe
A uniform latching system was designed to make it easier and quicker for parents to install child safety seats. This system is known as Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH). It uses uniform hardware so that parents and caregivers do not have to learn new methods of installation if using a car seat they are unfamiliar with.
The idea is that if car seats were easier to install properly, they would better protect children from injury in the event they were involved in an accident.
Only a Fraction of Automakers are Following the Guidelines
Unfortunately, according to a recent study from the IIHS, only 21 of the 100 top-selling vehicles have a LATCH system that is simple to use. They found that the rest of the vehicles had depth and clearances issues, or required more force, which made it harder to install car seats.
More specifically, they found that lower seat anchors need to rise to at least ¾ of an inch above the seat. There should be no foam, padding, or similar obstacles between the anchors and the child seat attachments. They also found that installation should require no more than 40 pounds of force to get the seats latched securely.
Has Your Child Been Injured While in a Child Safety Seat?
If your child has been injured while in a child safety seat then now is the time to contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707. We can listen to the facts of your case and help you find the best legal recourse. Call us now and request a free legal consultation.
