The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced today that Diono has recalled 519,052 child restraint and booster seats sold since 2014 because these seats may not restrain some children sufficiently in a crash. [More]
car seats
Evenflo Car Seat That Reminds Driver Child Is In Car Is Promising, Not Perfect Yet
By 6.8.16
Technology can’t solve all of our problems, but maybe there’s a technological solution that can help with a tragedy that has affected parents of all walks of life: leaving small children in hot cars to overheat and die. The happens to an average of 38 kids every year, and car seat maker Evenflo responded to safety advocates by making a seat and harness that integrates with your car’s electronics. [More]
Emergency Responders Smash Car’s Window After Report Of Baby Locked Inside, End Up Rescuing Lifelike Doll
By 9.1.15
If you’re in the habit of leaving eerily lifelike baby dolls strapped into a car seat while you’re out and about, you might want to reconsider, unless, of course, you like having your car’s windows smashed open: police in Oakland, Calif. say emergency responders busted the window of a vehicle after passersby reported a baby locked inside, only to find it was a very human looking doll that’d been placed in a rear-facing car seat, just like a living child would be. [More]
Britax Recalls 213,000 Car Seats Because They Might Not Secure The Child
By 8.14.15
Britax Child Safety Inc. initiated a recall this week of more than 213,000 car seats after finding buttons on the safety devices could fail, leaving a child essentially unsecured. [More]
Walmart Selling Car Seat That Alerts Parents When A Child Is Left Behind
By 7.24.15
Every summer, we can’t help but wonder why there aren’t more product solutions to the disturbing, but all too familiar, incidents involving children left behind in hot cars, often resulting in death. There’s at least one new product on the market this season that uses technology to alert parents before they accidentally leave their child in the vehicle, a car seat that’s now being sold online by Walmart. [More]
Graco Agrees To Pay $3M Fine For Delayed Reporting Of Car Seat-Buckle Complaints
By 3.20.15
After Graco recalled about six million car seats last year in two sets of recalls because the harness’ buckles could get stuck, the company has now agreed to shell out $3 million to the government for being slow to report complaints about the tricky buckles. [More]
If You Have One Of Two Britax ClickTight Car Seats, Watch This Video To Make Sure It’s Installed Safely
By 11.10.14
Our esteemed brethren at Consumer Reports are always checking into products to make sure that not only will they perform as they’re supposed to, but to make sure that consumers are using them safely and in the right way. So if you own a Britax Boulevard ClickTight or Britax Marathon ClickTight convertible car seat, you’ll want to watch this video to make sure everything is installed the way it’s supposed to be. [More]
Evenflo Agrees To Recall 202,000 Rear-Facing Infant Car Seats Over Tricky Buckle
By 10.24.14
Earlier this year, both Graco and Evenflo recalled almost six million car seats, all told, due to a safety buckle that regulators said could be tricky to open in the case of an emergency, and hamper attempts to get kids out of the car safely. And now, despite pushing back against a recall for additional rear-facing infant seats that use the same buckle, but that the companies argued don’t pose the same risk, Evenflo says it’s agreed to recall 202,000 more car seats. [More]
Public Safety Officer Gives Mom A New Car Seat For Her Daughter Instead Of Writing Her A Ticket
By 10.7.14
Keeping everyone safe on the road is part of the job of all local law enforcement, so when a public safety officer in Michigan pulled over a young driver and saw that her child wasn’t strapped into a safety seat, he acted. But instead of writing her a ticket for the lack of a car seat, he brought her to a store and bought one for her. [More]
Leaving Your Child In A Hot Car: “If You Think It Cannot Happen To You, You’re Wrong”
By 7.30.14
By this point in the summer, we’ve written more than a few times — unfortunately — about children who have died after being left in closed cars on hot days. While some cases point to parents deliberately leaving their children behind, the reason we keep writing about the dangers of doing so is because the reality is that it can happen to anyone. [More]
Evenflo Also Recalls 1.4 Million Car Seats For Sticky Buckle Issues
By 4.11.14
Hey, remember when Graco recalled more than 4 million child safety seats because their buckles have a tendency to latch a little too well when gummed up with food or beverages? It seems that they weren’t the only manufacturer to use the extra-sticky buckles. Evenflo has recalled just under 1.4 million of their seats for the same problem. [More]
Graco Tells Parents With Recalled Car Seats They’re In For A 6-8 Week Wait
By 3.21.14
The good news, if you’re a safety-minded person, is that the recall on Graco car seats announced last month and expanded a few weeks later was very effective. Maybe it was more effective than Graco had anticipated, because there’s now a long wait for replacement buckles. [More]
Another 403,000 Graco Car Seats Added To Recall
By 3.13.14
Last month, Graco and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalled 3.7 million of the company’s car seats for faulty buckles. Today comes news that an additional 403,000 seats have been added to the recall. [More]
Better, Stronger, Faster? New Federal Safety Rules Proposed for Child Car Seats
By 1.22.14
From a parent’s perspective, frequent changes in car seat regulations and standards can be daunting. Still, safety is paramount, and so the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing a round of new safety standards for child car seats. [More]
What Should I Do With This Used Child Car Seat?
By 10.21.13
The good news is that advancements in child safety seat technology mean that the products we depend on to protect our tiniest citizens from injury in a car crash are getting safer all the time. The bad news is that these advancements, and close monitoring of child safety products, mean that car seats are getting outmoded or recalled for safety reasons all the time. Where do old seats that can’t be reused end up? The trash, of course. [More]
Consumer Reports Says “Don’t Buy” Heidi Klum Truly Scrumptious Stroller
By 10.9.13
A $220 Heidi Klum Truly Scrumptious Travel System stroller has been judged a “Don’t Buy” Safety Risk by our cohorts at Consumer Reports after it was the only one, out of more than 100 strollers rated by the magazine, on which the safety harness failed to stay securely latched during tests. [More]
Your Car's Design Is Probably Why It's Hard To Install A Kid's Car Seat
By 4.12.12
You shouldn’t feel too bad after wrestling with your child’s car seat as you attempt to install it correctly. New research suggests that it’s the car’s design itself that’s to blame for your troubles — in fact, very few are easy to use with child restraints. [More]
9 Out Of 10 Parents Installing Car Seats Are Doing It Wrong
By 6.7.11
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, 9 out of 10 parents install their child’s car seat incorrectly. This could lead to your child getting hurt or killed in the event of an accident. Why risk it? Find an expert who can inspect your car seat and make sure you’ve put it in correctly. NHTSA has an online searchable database to find a certified technician near you. [More]
