Group Rates Few Child Booster Seats Highly
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, best known for its vehicle crash test ratings, announced that its most recent evaluation of child booster seats found only 15 rate as Good Bets or Best Bets and 11 out of the 60 tested weren’t recommended at all.
The tests look at how the boosters fit a shoulder belt on a child’s frame to cause the least amount of harm in an accident. The organization says, “A good booster routes the lap belt flat across a child’s upper thighs and positions the shoulder belt at midshoulder.”
The IIHS used a test dummy that represented an average-size 6-year-old. All testing was based on how the belts fit, not on actual crash tests.
It’s not all bad news, as the group of Best Bets and Good Bets includes seats ranging from $20 to $250. So even if you have one of the 11 that are not recommended, you can replace it affordably. The lists of Best Bets, Good Bets and seats not recommended are below.
Best Bets (click here for photos)
- Britax Frontier
- Clek Oobr
- Combi Dakota backless with clip
- Cosco Juvenile Pronto
- Eddie Bauer Auto Booster
- Evenflo Big Kid Amp backless with clip
- Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR
- Recaro Vivo
- Recaro Young Sport
Good Bets (click here for photos)
- Britax Parkway SG
- Combi Kobuk backless with clip
- Evenflo Symphony 65
- Graco TurboBooster SafeSeat Step 3, Sachi
- Graco TruboBooster SafeSeat Step 3, Wander
- Maxi-Cosi Rodi
Not Recommended (click here for photos)
- Alpha Omega
- Alpha Omega Elite
- Alpha Omega Luxe Echelon
- Combi Kobuk
- Eddie Bauer Deluxe
- Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1
- Evenflo Express
- Evenflo Sightseer
- Harmony Secure Comfort Deluxe backless with clip
- Safety 1st All-in-one
- Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite
