Summer 2007

NHTSA Study Shows LATCH System Confuses Many Parents

Too many parents are not using the new LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) technology properly because of a lack of education about the value of the system and how to use it. That is the main conclusion of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), based on findings of its study released in December 2006.

Low tether use was singled out as the key finding of the survey conducted in seven states in 2005, two years after the new equipment became standard for all new passenger vehicles and child restraints. More than 1100 children under age 5 riding in vehicles equipped with LATCH were observed and their parents interviewed by Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) or Instructors.

Fifty-five percent of parents transporting children in forward-facing child restraints (CRs) with tether straps did not connect the tether even though their vehicles were equipped with tether anchors. This means that almost half of today's children still do not have the benefit of reduced head excursion and lower risk of potentially serious head/neck injuries in severe crashes.

Lower attachments were connected 60 percent of the time when LATCH-equipped child restraints were used in seating positions having lower anchors. However, the seat belt was also used in 13 percent of those instances. In addition, 13 percent of parents chose to install their child's restraint in a position without lower attachments—in most cases, the center-rear seat.

MAIN FINDINGS

Tethers

Of those using the tether, 81 percent said that it was very easy or relatively easy to use. The most common misuses of installed tethers were:

• a loose strap (18 percent) – used pinch test
• twisted strap (12 percent)

The top three reasons given by parents for not using the tether when both the forward-facing CR and the vehicle were equipped with tether equipment were:

• not knowing how to use the tether (36 percent)
• thinking it was not important (25 percent)
• belief that the vehicle did not have tether anchors (10 percent)

Lower Attachments

Of those using the lower attachments, 74 percent said they were very easy or relatively easy to use. A tight fit in the vehicle (less than 1 inch movement) was found by the surveyors in 61 percent of the CRs installed with lower attachments. This is a significantly higher rate than was found for tight CR installation with seat belts (40 to 46 percent) in a 2002 CR usage study. However, substantial misuse was found. The major misuses were:

• loose installation (30 percent)
• connectors attached to something other than designated anchor bars (11 percent). Of those installed using lower anchor bars not designated for the seating position, 96 percent were in the center rear seat.
• attachment strap twisted more than 1/2 turn or lower connector upside down (each 9 percent)

The main reasons given for not using the lower attachments/anchors were:

• not knowing how to use it (37 percent)
• thinking it was not important (17 percent)
• belief (incorrect) that the vehicle did not have LATCH (12 percent)

NHTSA GOALS

• increasing the use of the lower attachments
• increasing the use of tether straps
• increasing the proportion of children riding in the center rear seat, including encouraging the availability of LATCH systems in the center rear
• improving safe restraint methods for children over 40 pounds who are not yet ready to use a booster seat, including ways to increase use of upper tethers for high-weight harness CRs

FIRST STEPS

NHTSA convened a meeting of stakeholders on February 8 to discuss issues raised in the study and other actions that the agency could take to improve proper installation and use of CRs. The agency also accepted comments from the public. To read the full report and all comments go to dms.dot.gov (enter docket number 26735 under "Simple Search").

In addition, the agency brought together a small group to develop initial messages for a new public information campaign that is planned for this fall.

Reference

Child Restraint Use Survey: LATCH Use and Misuse, Decina, LE, Lococo, KH, Doyle, CT. NHTSA Report DOT HS 810 679, available at www.nhtsa.gov (go to Child Passenger Safety page)

(From Safe Ride News, January/February 2007)

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Child Restraint Usage Rates – 2006

The NOPUS (National Occupant Protection Usage Survey), a probability-based observational survey, is done annually by NHTSA. In the 2006 survey, 2300 children were observed at 1200 sites. Released in February 2007, the report shows progress but also points out gaps.

Overall, most children under age 8 ride in the back seat; however the percentage of infants and young children in the back seat has declined. The 7 percent of infants in the front seat, many of whom would be riding rear-facing, could be at high risk from a passenger air bag.

Ninety-eight percent of infants (under age 1) were observed to be restrained in some way. The use of forward-facing child restraints (CRs) dropped steadily from 2002, 66 to 36 percent. However, the percentage in rear-facing CRs only increased by 3 percent from last year, to 48 percent, while the proportion of babies using a seat belt or backless booster seat burgeoned from 1 to 11 percent. The known benefit of the rear-facing position may not have reached many parents of infants.

For children age 1 to 3, 19 percent were inappropriately restrained in boosters or seatbelts, a drop from 29 percent in 2002. The percentage ofunrestrained children went from 6 percent in 2002 to 11 percent in 2006. Again, the safety benefit of a harness-type CR may have been lost on many caregivers.

Among children age 4 to 7, restraint use was at 78 percent, most (59 percent) in seat belts or backless boosters. (These two types of restraints are not separated in this kind of observation survey, as surveyors cannot determine whether the child is seated on a booster or not.) The proportion of children using forward-facing CRs has grown from 9 percent in 2002 to 16 percent in 2006, while the proportion in high-back boosters has swung from 6 (2002) to 8 (2005) and 3 percent (2006).

Reference

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts, Research Note, DOT HS 810 737, www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ (search for "810 737")

(From Safe Ride News, May/June 2007)

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Consumers Union's Mistake and Retraction

In January, Consumers Union (CU) published highly controversial results of side-impact sled tests of rear-facing infant restraints in the February 2007 edition of Consumer Reports. CU retracted the article and all its conclusions two weeks later due to incorrect test methods after NHTSA ran another set of sled tests on the same CRs that showed very different results. CU's outside test lab had run side-impact sled tests at a highly unrealistic speed of 38 mph—far above the usual speed of 14 to 18 mph for restraints in tests simulating severe side-impact crashes. CU issued a press release announcing the retraction of the article and sent e-mails and letters to all their subscribers and to libraries around the country. However, the inaccurate information will remain in circulation for some time.

The May issue of Consumer Reports contained a long article, "How our car seat tests went wrong" that described the error and its response. The full article can be found by searching for the article title at http://www.consumerreports.org.

The May article says that CU's biggest error was to attempt to run the side-impact tests without consultation from outside experts. CU says it will not run any more side-impact tests until there is greater consensus among experts on the best method for such tests. It also retracted its call for a recall of the Evenflo Discovery.

In an editorial accompanying the article, Jim Guest, CU President, promised to confer more regularly with outside experts when developing complex tests. In addition, any report that rates a product Not Acceptable or test series that produces unexpected results for an entire group of products will be given additional scrutiny.

CU has since conducted a round of 30-mph frontal-impact tests. These will be published in the October 2007 issue of Consumer Reports.

References

NHTSA side-impact test videos: www.nhtsa.dot.gov (go to Child Passenger Safety page)

For an explanation of side-impact testing procedures and speeds, go to the section about Consumers Union at http://www.saferidenews.com

(From Safe Ride News, March/April 2007)

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Crash Outcomes in the Real World

The publication—and quick retraction—by Consumers Union of results of infant seat failures in side-impact tests in January raised questions about how child passengers are killed in real-world crashes. Is restraint failure a major cause? In many studies, child restraints have been found to do an excellent job of protecting children in the vast majority of crashes. According to NHTSA research, child restraints have reduced the risk of fatality by up to 71 percent for infants, even when realistic levels of misuse are included.

The most exhaustive analysis is from the massive database of crashes compiled by the Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Injury Research and Prevention. PCPS researchers say that it is not possible to calculate a precise injury risk to infants because there are so few infants injured while riding rear-facing.

In direct response to the CU article, PCPS* researchers stated on January 5, 2007: "Less than one percent of crashes reported to PCPS since 1997 involved infants in rear-facing seats in side-impact crashes. Among these cases, the risk of injury was less than one-half of one percent." The risk of death would be much lower.

An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study** reviewed all deaths in one recent year of children under age 6 using child restraints. It showed that deaths of restrained children nearly always happened in catastrophic crashes rather than due to failure of the child's restraint. Half the crashes were found to be unsurvivable. Looking at the 37 cases (40 percent) that involved side-impact, 33 of the children (70 percent) were seated on the struck side where the impact occurred and almost half of them (17) involved massive intrusion at the child's seating position. Even where some survival space remained, the study said: "it is possible that even the most sophisticated countermeasures could not have prevented the fatalities."

Resources

* PCPS: http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury

** Sherwood, CP, Ferguson, SA, Crandall, JR, Factors leading to crash fatalities to children in child restraints, AAAM Proceedings, 2003.

(From Safe Ride News, January/February 2007)

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Updated Resources for Inspection Stations, and CEUs

The 2007 editions of the LATCH Manual and the Child Restraint Manufacturers' Instructions CD have been published. These are listed in the 2007 Standardized Curriculum and considered by advocates and practitioners to be essential tools for Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) and other professionals working with parents and families. Both also offer CEUs for recertification.

For more information:

• LATCH Manual 2007; http://www.saferidenews.com
• Child Restraint Manufacturers' Instructions 2007 edition, CD published by SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.; http://www.carseat.org

Sources of CEUs

A variety of CEU opportu-nities are available. Some are sessions at state and national conferences. Some are accessible online, such as Tech Update. A quiz is provided on the CPS Board Web site for each issue. Two quizzes must be passed for one CEU. The Web site will be developing new CEU offerings. Check http://www.cpsboard.org regularly and sign up for its e-mail update service. State CPS programs also provide CEU opportunities.

New Resource Section for Curriculum

The 2007 curriculum includes an appendix with a resource section. The participant manual and appendix are available on the CPS Board Web site, http://www.cpsboard.org/training.htm

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Certification News

CPS Board News

The National CPS Board is a volunteer group that works to maintain the quality and integrity of the National Child Passenger Safety Certification Training Program. The Board, NHTSA and the Certifying Body (Safe Kids Worldwide) worked together to complete the revised curriculum released this spring. The National CPS Board website has been updated with the 2007 instructor and technician manuals ready to download at http://www.cpsboard.org/techmanual.htm.

To support the ongoing needs of technicians, the Board now offers new resources on its website. Visit http://www.cpsboard.org/ceus.htm to earn CEUs online for recertification! You can earn CEUs by viewing PowerPoint presentations or reading Tech Update articles, then completing quizzes. Presentations currently available are "Boosters and Airbags" and "Latest Child Restraints."

The Board welcomed six new members at its December 2006 and February 2007 meetings. All Board members are intended to represent the voices of varied audiences that are part of the CPS community. We are pleased to announce new members representing the following constituencies:

• At-Large — Janet B. Brooks, Child Advocacy Manager at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah
• Diversity — Wanda Vazquez, Occupant Protection Coordinator at Centro San Bonifacio in Chicago, Illinois
• Diversity — Mike James, Statewide Child Passenger Safety Coordinator at Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs in Huntsville, Alabama
• Governors Highway Safety Association — Robert F. Dallas, Director of the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety in Atlanta, Georgia
• Injury Prevention/Emergency Services — Thomas J. Vilt, Child Passenger Safety Coordinator at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital Injury Prevention Center in Cleveland, Ohio
• National Nursing — Tim Murphy, Nursing Director, Department of Trauma & Injury Prevention at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey

Visit http://www.cpsboard.org for a list of all Board members, complete contact information and committee membership.

Revised Certification Course a New Approach

The revised curriculum approaches the CPS certification course with the expectation that students and instructors will continue building their knowledge and skills well after the class ends. Because every certified technician has the potential to impact children's lives, the course is rigorous and requires students to pass all written and hands-on tests.

The 2007 student workbook was designed to be user friendly in order to encourage sustained use after certification. The workbook includes not only the usual slides and text but also a glossary, index, and appendix to make information accessible in an organized manner. The statistics used in the course are evergreen and there are multiple, reliable information sources provided in the appendix. In class, students will use the workbook to complete three timed tests.

For continuing use, the workbook includes a place to record each new Child Passenger Safety Technician's (CPST's) assigned technician number, which will be especially useful for those who are infrequent event participants. CPSTs will be able to refer easily to the Appendix for information sources that can be accessed by internet or phone. This will help assure that their ongoing work teaching parents, designing programs, and writing press releases and grant proposals will be current and accurate.

Current CPSTs will find the Appendix just as useful in their work. It is available for download from the CPS Board Web site.

Many board members, NHTSA staff, and others worked hard to make this a useful, relevant update. They hope it will be utilized in this manner.

See New Resource Section for Curriculum above

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