13 car booster seats get thumbs-down for safety

WASHINGTON — Several car booster seats do a poor job of positioning children to fit in their seat belts, according to a review by the insurance industry and researchers.

The Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found today that 13 booster seats don't put children in the best position to be protected in a crash.

The Institute, which conducts crash tests of new vehicles, did not recommend: Compass B505, Compass B510, Cosco/Dorel Traveler, Evenflo Big Kid Confidence, Safety Angel Ride Ryte, Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega, Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit, Cosco Highback Booster, Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect, Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch, Evenflo Generations, Graco CarGo Zephyr, and Safety 1st/Dorel Intera.

IIHS President Adrian Lund said the 13 boosters "may increase restraint use by making children more comfortable, but they don't position belts for optimal protection."

Evenflo said in a statement that it conducts extensive tests of the seats and the IIHS study was "misleading as it fails to consider the real world use and performance of the seats tested."

Evenflo said it had sold more than 4 million units of the seats cited by the Institute, and "we are not aware of a single incident in which a child was injured as a result of an improper fit."

Other child seat manufacturers said their products meet and exceed federal regulations. Dorel Juvenile Group said it "welcomes the opportunity to review the evaluation conducted by the IIHS."

Graco Children's Products said in a statement that "safety is always a top priority and nothing is more important than the well-being of the children who use our products."

It was the first time the Institute issued evaluations for booster seats. Lund said they chose not to review crash protection because the seats simply elevate children so lap and shoulder belts are well-positioned to restrain them.

Booster seats are typically used by children between the ages of 4 and 8. The seat belt is meant to be routed across a child's lower hips and mid-shoulders instead of the abdomen because the liver and spleen are more vulnerable to injuries.