Making Safety Seat Use Child’s Play

The task of securely fitting a child safety seat into a car will become easier beginning Sunday, when auto makers and car seat makers are required to adopt new federal safety requirements.

Makers of child car seats and automobiles will be required to equip them with securing mechanisms that firmly and easily snap together, a system called lower anchors and tethers for children, or Latch. Some manufacturers began using the system in 2000.

Installing a safety seat with the new securing system takes less than a minute. It involves hooking three short straps--one at the top and two at the lower corners--from the child safety seat into anchors i in the car seat.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that the Latch system could prevent as many as 50 deaths and 3,000 injuries each year. An estimated 80% of child car seats are installed incorrectly, contributing to vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for children of all ages.

NHTSA said it launched an advertising campaign to make parents aware of the new safety requirements.

The Latch system can be installed on some car seats, but officials said pre-Latch system child seats that are properly installed are equally safe.

The Latch system works with forward-and backward-facing seats, but it should not be used with a booster seat.

The system will make it easier to strap a child into a car seat, but parents also should follow standard safety procedures such as placing a child in the back seat and checking that the safety-seat harness straps are tight, the government said.

Parents can arrange to have a child safety seat inspection by calling (866) 732-8243.