Government Proposes New Rigorous Standards for Child Safety Seats

We rely on child car seats to protect our children in the event of a car accident. The majority of highly rated car seats are able to secure children in place when a car is involved in rear-end or front-end collisions. However, there are no current federal regulations in place to ensure that child car seats are effective during side-impact crashes. After years of planning and research, the government finally appears ready to make child car seats safer in broadside or T-bone collisions.

Upgrading the Standards
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has officially proposed an upgrade to the current standards for child seats carrying children weighing up to 40 pounds. According to the Associated Press, NHTSA estimates that the upgrade can help save the lives of at least five children each year and prevent about 64 non-fatal child injuries each year. The new tests will simulate a T-bone crash. During the test, one vehicle traveling at 30 mph crashes into the side of a second vehicle traveling at 15 mph. These are the speeds at which a majority of side impact collisions occur at intersections.
Protecting Children
In recent years, vehicles have gone from being equipped with two air bags to eight with the goal of protecting the adult occupants. It is important that more is done to protect children as well. The Associated Press reports that certain child car seat manufacturers such as Dorel are already installing car seat air bags, which inflate during side-impact crashes. In the meantime, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations before NHTSA makes them official.
If you or a loved one has been injured or if you have lost a loved one as a result of a defectively designed or defectively manufactured child car seat, the experienced New York personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Our skilled car accident attorneys have a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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Source: ABC News

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