Oct 1, 2008

Is Your Child's Booster Seat Safe?

Booster seats are meant to improve the fit of a vehicle's safety belt so it fits properly on a young child thus protecting him/her from injuries in car crashes. However, a new study by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) determined that some booster seats may not provide the proper restraints for injury protection in a vehicle accident.

Out 41 seats tested by IIHS, 13 did not receive recommendations from the institute. These 13 include the following:

Not recommended:

  • Safety Angel Ride Ryte backless
  • Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit
  • Graco CarGo Zephyr
  • Evenflo Big Kid Confidence
  • Cosco/Dorel Traveler
  • Compass B505
  • Compass B510
  • Evenflo Generations
  • Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect
  • Cosco Highback Booster
  • Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega
  • Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch
  • Safety 1st/Dorel Intera
To read more and find out if your booster seat is on the "best bet" list, go to the IIHS Web site.
For proper seat belt fit, go here.

Hawaii's Booster Seat Law:

As parents and care givers, we know that Hawaii has a booster seat law that requires children between the ages of four through seven to ride in booster seats. Your child is exempt if he/she is over 4'9" or if your rear seats have has "lap only" seat belts. According to Hawaii's Department of Transportation's Web site, a child "should be restrained in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit in an adult seat belt (approximately 80 lbs. and 4’9’’ tall)."

Help keep our keiki safe.

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