Vehicle booster seats are seats designed for children ages 4 through 8 that assist in positioning a child occupant so that seat belts are properly positioned on the child. Many states require the use of booster seats for kids under 8. Standards differ from state to state. Thanks to the helpful Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) a list of state child-restraint laws is available here.
Parents, and those businesses that transport children, will want to review the Institute’s question and answer section on child passenger safety. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a comprehensive online guide as well.
The IIHS has finished a review of 72 different booster seat models. The review concludes with the opinion that “boosters are better than they used to be at fitting lap and shoulder belts on 4 to 8-year-old kids to restrain them in a crash. Most belt-positioning boosters, though, don’t offer consistently good fit in all vehicles.”
What is a good booster fit? According to the IIHS, “The lap belt should fit flat across a child’s upper thighs, not the soft abdomen. Good boosters have belt-routing features that hold lap belts down and forward. The shoulder belt should cross snugly over the middle of the shoulder. Then it’s in position to provide effective protection in a crash.”
The Institute divided the reviewed models into three groups: best bet, good bet, and not recommended. The Institute points out that some manufacturers have adopted Institute testing standards and have since achieved “best bet” ratings, pointing out North Carolina based, Britax Child Safety, Inc. as one of those companies, along with Clek, Combi, Dorel, Evenflo, and Recaro, companies that received “best bet” recommendations last year.
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