A report released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that many booster seats can be safe, but parents and caregivers must pay attention to how they fit individual children.
According to the report released Thursday, the institute tested 62 boosters, both backless and high-back seats, to evaluate how they fit an average 6-year-old child in the most common vehicles.
In order to obtain the best rating, a “best bet,” a seat belt must rest across the occupants lap, not across their belly and it also must rest across the middle of their shoulders, not the outside or the inside of it.
Of those tested, 31 were named “best bets” and another five were named “good bets.” Twenty fell into the “check fit” category and the remaining six of those tested fell into the “not recommended” category.
Those not recommended were the following: Evenflo Chase, Evenflo Express, Evenflo Generation 65, Evenflo Sightseer, Safety 1st All-in-One and Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite.
Researchers did note that although these models were not ideal, they were still better than no seat and consumers should continue to use until a suitable replacement could be made.
It is important to note that some models that have both a backless and high-back mode had different ratings, depending on the way it was used.
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