I was actually surprised at how slow the tests were done, seeing the results. Seriously, many accidents happen at a much greater speed than the 30-40 mph range. Just imagining what would happen if they upped the speed makes me wonder. Last summer my car was T-boned by a truck going 40 mph. I was fortunate that the spot it hit was where I was sitting in the back seat and not where my son was sitting. His toddler seat did what it was supposed to do and he only suffered minor cuts from the broken glass. But thinking about if we had been in opposite seats scares the hell out of me. I came out of it hurt but not so much I had to go to the hospital. My son could have faired worse.
Add in the thought of a car seat for an infant and no test can ever be too ridiculous when trying to determine if it does the job its made for.
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Hrm, not positive, but from a Google Image Search I'm pretty sure my son is in a Graco SnugRide. I know his infant one was a SnugRide for sure because we still use the stroller. My daughter rides in a Safety First seat and that designer got some pretty **** poor ratings. Time to check sales!
Edit: Actually, I just read that link again. This is only for infant seats? Did they do tests on seats for older kids?
Edited, Jan 8th 2007 5:13pm by Pikko
Edit: Actually, I just read that link again. This is only for infant seats? Did they do tests on seats for older kids?
Edited, Jan 8th 2007 5:13pm by Pikko
I know they definitely test them, Pikko. Consumer Reports does testing annually for all car seats, including boosters. Unfortunately, you need membership to access anything not current on their site.
If you have access to ConsumerReports.com, you may want to look there.
If you have access to ConsumerReports.com, you may want to look there.
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It was a hoax.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/01/18/car_seat/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/01/18/car_seat/index.html
Quote:
Consumer Reports recalls car seat study
Nonprofit group retracts study after government finds problem with the way tests were conducted.
By Christian Zappone, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Consumer Reports, the consumer product testing magazine, announced Thursday that is withdrawing a recent report on rear-facing infant car seats after learning of a problem in the way some of the tests were conducted.
The magazine said it still stands behind its request for a recall of one of the seats, however, since that seat performed poorly in a test that is not now in question.
That report alleged that several infant car seats failed crash tests performed using tougher standards than those used by the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The initial report was released in January 5 and was reported on CNNMoney that day. (Read the original story.)
Consumer Reports received information from NHTSA raising questions about the side impact test.
"Our initial review of the Consumer Reports testing procedures showed a significant error in the manner in which it conducted and reported on its side-impact tests," said NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason in a statement posted on the agency's Web site.
"The organization's data show its side-impact tests were actually conducted under conditions that would represent being struck in excess of 70 mph, twice as fast as the group claimed," said Nason.
"When NHTSA tested the same child seats in conditions representing the 38.5 mph conditions claimed by Consumer Reports, the seats stayed in their bases as they should, instead of failing dramatically," she reported.
Consumer Reports will now conduct new side-impact tests, examine all aspects of the article and conduct an internal review, said spokesman Ken Weine.
The magazine also says it stands by its request for a recall of the Evenflo Discovery because it didn't meet federal frontal crash test standards and the Eddie Bauer Comfort because it couldn't be installed properly.
"Trust in Consumer Reports is built on communicating safety to the consumer," said Weine. "We're doing this as soon as we can."
Following the Consumer Reports story Evenflo retested its Discovery infant seat internally and through an independent laboratory, Evenflo CEO Rob Matteucci said in an e-mailed statement.
"In every one of these 17 tests - conducted in strict compliance with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testing standards - the Discovery infant seat met or exceeded all NHTSA safety standards," Matteucci affirmed.
"We are absolutely confident in the safety of the Evenflo Discovery infant seat, and we are certain it meets or exceeds all federal government standards for safety," Matteucci said and pledged to work with Consumer Reports and with NHTSA on on the matter.
NHTSA is the federal organization in charge of testing vehicles and equipment used on the road.
In the original report Consumer Reports crash-tested 12 infant-seat brands, including models made by Evenflo, Graco and Baby Trend, and found that 10 didn't provide adequate protection.
The car seats had already passed federal government crash tests, which are conducted from the front at 30 miles per hour.
Consumer Reports said it will publish a new report with "any necessary revisions" as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Consumer Reports urges motorists to remember any child seat is better than no child seat and to suspend judgment on the merits of individual brands until the new report is released.
Evenflo has set up a consumer hotline (800-233-5921) to answer questions about the safety of Discovery and other Evenflo products. It has set up a dedicated e-mail address: carseats@evenflo.com.
Nonprofit group retracts study after government finds problem with the way tests were conducted.
By Christian Zappone, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Consumer Reports, the consumer product testing magazine, announced Thursday that is withdrawing a recent report on rear-facing infant car seats after learning of a problem in the way some of the tests were conducted.
The magazine said it still stands behind its request for a recall of one of the seats, however, since that seat performed poorly in a test that is not now in question.
That report alleged that several infant car seats failed crash tests performed using tougher standards than those used by the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The initial report was released in January 5 and was reported on CNNMoney that day. (Read the original story.)
Consumer Reports received information from NHTSA raising questions about the side impact test.
"Our initial review of the Consumer Reports testing procedures showed a significant error in the manner in which it conducted and reported on its side-impact tests," said NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason in a statement posted on the agency's Web site.
"The organization's data show its side-impact tests were actually conducted under conditions that would represent being struck in excess of 70 mph, twice as fast as the group claimed," said Nason.
"When NHTSA tested the same child seats in conditions representing the 38.5 mph conditions claimed by Consumer Reports, the seats stayed in their bases as they should, instead of failing dramatically," she reported.
Consumer Reports will now conduct new side-impact tests, examine all aspects of the article and conduct an internal review, said spokesman Ken Weine.
The magazine also says it stands by its request for a recall of the Evenflo Discovery because it didn't meet federal frontal crash test standards and the Eddie Bauer Comfort because it couldn't be installed properly.
"Trust in Consumer Reports is built on communicating safety to the consumer," said Weine. "We're doing this as soon as we can."
Following the Consumer Reports story Evenflo retested its Discovery infant seat internally and through an independent laboratory, Evenflo CEO Rob Matteucci said in an e-mailed statement.
"In every one of these 17 tests - conducted in strict compliance with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testing standards - the Discovery infant seat met or exceeded all NHTSA safety standards," Matteucci affirmed.
"We are absolutely confident in the safety of the Evenflo Discovery infant seat, and we are certain it meets or exceeds all federal government standards for safety," Matteucci said and pledged to work with Consumer Reports and with NHTSA on on the matter.
NHTSA is the federal organization in charge of testing vehicles and equipment used on the road.
In the original report Consumer Reports crash-tested 12 infant-seat brands, including models made by Evenflo, Graco and Baby Trend, and found that 10 didn't provide adequate protection.
The car seats had already passed federal government crash tests, which are conducted from the front at 30 miles per hour.
Consumer Reports said it will publish a new report with "any necessary revisions" as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Consumer Reports urges motorists to remember any child seat is better than no child seat and to suspend judgment on the merits of individual brands until the new report is released.
Evenflo has set up a consumer hotline (800-233-5921) to answer questions about the safety of Discovery and other Evenflo products. It has set up a dedicated e-mail address: carseats@evenflo.com.
My mother once put my sister in her car seat and placed it on top of the car, strapped me into the back seat, and then drove off with her up there. Might explain some of the issues she has.
Well, that's disappointing. Consumer Reports is generally a spot-on organization.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
Word on the AM news is they farmed out the study, and didn't actually conduct the study themselves.
MonxDoT wrote:
Word on the AM news is they farmed out the study, and didn't actually conduct the study themselves.
I blame socialist Europe, personally.
Edited, Jan 19th 2007 10:38am by RedPhoenixxx
Jophiel wrote:
Well, that's disappointing. Consumer Reports is generally a spot-on organization.
I wouldn't call it a hoax, but publishing shabby methodology is still shabby. CS is usually the gold standard for this sort of thing.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
Jophiel wrote:
I wouldn't call it a hoax, but publishing shabby methodology is still shabby. CS is usually the gold standard for this sort of thing.
The written data of the study may not constitute a hoax, but combined with those video images of child safety seats being violently tossed across numerous news broadcasts I think it crossed into the realm of hoax. I wouldn't be surprised if there were anti-corporate groups out there with smear agendas or "benign" paternalistic regulatory agendas. CS must have insurance for these type of events? Some of those smeared child safety seat manufacturers might have lost millions and millions in business.
MonxDoT wrote:
I wouldn't be surprised if there were anti-corporate groups out there with smear agendas or "benign" paternalistic regulatory agendas.
Paternalistic regulatory agenda anti-corporate groups are tearing this country apart!
They just found out the controlled safety tests they said were at a regulated 30 mph were actually at a regulated 70mph.
jegzus the Meaningless wrote:
This is something I deal with all too frequently in my line of work. Personally I blame the car manufactures for making these new vehicles to "flimsy".
If anyone has ever had the fun redneck pleasure of entering a demolition derby they know what I'm talking about. The old cars took a serious beating before actually endangering the occupants. I have no fear when I'm in a 76-77 or older car in the demo's, but when I use a new vehicle 80's and up I actually get scared of getting hurt.
If anyone has ever had the fun redneck pleasure of entering a demolition derby they know what I'm talking about. The old cars took a serious beating before actually endangering the occupants. I have no fear when I'm in a 76-77 or older car in the demo's, but when I use a new vehicle 80's and up I actually get scared of getting hurt.
I have been in three car acidents where the car was totaled. The first two were in '65 Mustangs. The first one some kid did a u-turn on the PCH and I t-boned him going 65 mph. The second one some guy rear ended me on a busy residentail street going 50+ mph. In both cases they broke the cars back (literaly bent it in half enough to total it) and I came out of the accidents with nothing more than a few bruises. The third was a bumper-on-bumper accident going less than 20 mph in a 1980s Dodge something or other. The car was a total wreck and while I only got some bumps and bruises from this one as well I got worse and more than the other two combined.
Yeah, modern cars are supposed to crumple, that way they absorb the majority of the impact, rather than your face.
Not to mention that the antilock brakes, tires, steering and suspension on modern cars will help prevent the accident in the first place.
Yea well, I would rather have the big steel monsers that can handle a fender bender without a scratch and survive a large crash then a piece of aluminum and fiberglass crap that "crumples" in ingenious ways in a fender bender and you have to go buy a new one. That was kinda my point.
Well you say that now, until you're in a potentially life-threatening accident.
Edit: don't be the Gbaji of car crash science.
Edited, Jan 19th 2007 7:22pm by trickybeck
MonxDoT wrote:
That report alleged that several infant car seats failed crash tests performed using tougher standards than those used by the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The initial report was released in January 5 and was reported on CNNMoney that day. (Read the original story.)
Consumer Reports received information from NHTSA raising questions about the side impact test.
"Our initial review of the Consumer Reports testing procedures showed a significant error in the manner in which it conducted and reported on its side-impact tests," said NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason in a statement posted on the agency's Web site.
"The organization's data show its side-impact tests were actually conducted under conditions that would represent being struck in excess of 70 mph, twice as fast as the group claimed," said Nason.
"When NHTSA tested the same child seats in conditions representing the 38.5 mph conditions claimed by Consumer Reports, the seats stayed in their bases as they should, instead of failing dramatically," she reported.
So in other words, the seat I'm registered for (the Graco SnugRide, one of the two that passed) survived impact tests at 70 mph as well as a measly 38 mph.
Failing to see the bad here...what I am failing to see is how the NHTSA can think surviving crashes at less than 40 miles an hour is a decent indicator of safety. Frankly, I think ALL these tests should be done at higher speeds.
I'll stick with the CR results, thanks.
that was my thought as well, Ambrya. My car seat was the other one that still did its job in a crash of over 70 mph. While the smudging of proper facts is poor journalism, I feel even better knowing my car seat did its job above and beyond what they test for.
DSD wrote:
that was my thought as well, Ambrya. My car seat was the other one that still did its job in a crash of over 70 mph. While the smudging of proper facts is poor journalism, I feel even better knowing my car seat did its job above and beyond what they test for.
This being my firstborn and all, and me being appropriately overprotective in the face of such an event, at this point you could tell me the things intended to insure my kid's safety were were tested to survive a nuclear blast, and I'd just raise a skeptical eyebrow and ask "how many megatons?"
Too much? Ain't no such animal.
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