21 BOOSTER SEAT BEST BETS, 7 GOOD BETS, 8 NOT RECOMMENDED
Booster seats are made to ever increasing standards of safety, with better fit on shoulder and lap belts. As a parent, it’s easy to find a seat which is offers the best set-up for both your child and your vehicle.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety evaluated the range of booster seats on sale today to evaluate the good, the bad and the ugly.
Researchers at IIHS (www.iihs.org) assessed 72 boosters for quality of safety belt fit, based on the accuracy of positioning belts on average kids using booster seats in typical vehicles. The booster seat ratings here are based on how well the manufacturer has designed the belts to fit. A good booster seat goes across your child’s upper thigh, with the shoulder belt positioned at mid shoulder. The lowest seat ratings go to those seats where the belts were judged to fit poorly.
These are not crash-tests – because boosters don’t behave as restraints in a crash – it’s all about the fit of the belt. The good news is that more and more manufacturers are paying more attention to the belt fit, and achieve higher ratings as a result.
Institute engineers assessed the booster seats using a crash test dummy representing a typical 6 year-old. Measurements were taken of how 3-point lap and shoulder belts fitted the dummy in each of the booster seats under a range of typical scenarios in a number of different vehicle types. An overall score was awarded based on the aggregate performance in each of the scenarios.
BELT WITH GOOD FIT
Booster seats are designed to lift the child so that adult safety belts fit better. The lap belt should fit flat across thighs, not abdomen. A good booster seat routes the belt down and forward. The shoulder belt should cross comfortably over the centre of the shoulder. This provides the most effective position in the event of a crash.
BELT WITH POOR FIT
Some booster seats route the belt poorly and provide poor fit. In this example, the lap belt is too far onto the abdomen, and the shoulder belt is too near the neck.
2010 IIHS BOOSTER EVALUATION RESULTS
REVIEWED AND RATED AS BEST BETS
Britax Frontier 85
Chicco Keyfit Strada
Clek Oobr
Cosco Juvenile Pronto
Cybex Solution X-Fix
Eddie Bauer Auto Booster
Evenflo Big Kid Amp
Evenflo Maestro
Graco TurboBooster Crawford
Harmony Baby Armor
Harmony Dreamtime
Harmony Dreamtime (dual highback)
Harmony Secure Comfort Deluxe
Harmony Youth Booster Seat
Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR
Recaro ProBOOSTER
Recaro ProSPORT
Recaro Vivo
Recaro Young Sport
Safety 1st Boost Air Protect
(dual highback)
The First Years Pathway B570
RATED AS GOOD BETS
Britax Parkway SG (dual highback)
Combi Kobuk Air Thru (dual backless)
Combi Kobuk Air Thru (dual highback)
Evenflo Symphony 65 (3-in-1 highback)
Graco TurboBooster Sachi (dual highback)
Graco TurboBooster Wander (dual highback)
Maxi-Cosi Rodi (dual highback)
RATED AS NOT RECOMMENDED
Eddie Bauer Deluxe (combination highback)
Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1 (highback)
Evenflo Express (combination highback)
Evenflo Generations 65 (combination highback)
Evenflo Sightseer (highback)
Harmony Baby Armor (dual backless)
Safety 1st All-in-One (3-in-1 highback)
Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite (3-in-1 highback)
If you are a parent and you have a booster seat on the Not Recommended list, consider buying a replacement.