NHTSA Unveils New Car Seat Rating System

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced a new five-star government rating system for child safety seats, evaluating car seats on how easy they are to properly install. Under the new ratings, expanded criteria are used to evaluate the seats, which are awarded an overall star rating, as well as individual ratings in four categories: securing the child, vehicle installation features, labeling and instructions. The new system does not measure how effectively a seat protects a child in the event of a crash, but rather compares how easy one seat is to use over another. NHTSA data suggests that seven out of 10 car seats are either the wrong size for the child or seriously misused, ultimately reducing their effectiveness in a crash. NHTSA says it will add and rate new models as they become available on the market. The complete list of rankings is available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov