The NHTSA first informed the U.S. Congress in 2004 that better protection of children from side impact collisions was a priority. But little has been done since then to work towards that goal.
Last week, the NHTSA took up the safety banner again, and proposed rules that would require children’s car seats to withstand T-bone collisions of up to 30 mph. Our Houston car accident injury lawyers note that compliance with the new rules is expected to save at least 5 children’s lives each year and spare at least another 65 serious injury.
To test the ability of the car seat to withstand such impacts, manufacturers will have to simulate crashes where the front of a vehicle traveling at 30 mph strikes the side of a vehicle traveling at 15 mph. And the tests are supposed to use 40-pound crash test dummies that simulate the mass of a 3-year-old.
While T-bone collisions aren’t as frequent as frontal impact crashes or rear end wrecks (the most frequent type of accident), side impact crashes actually account for about 1 in 4 collisions. Drivers, especially those who are speeding and/or drunk, run red lights and stop signs with alarming frequency. The Houston car accident injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC realize that it’s usually the vehicle with legal right-of-way that gets T-boned in the intersection.
Manufacturers tend to balk in the face of additional regulations because it adds new costs to the manufacturing and R&D processes, as well as to the final product. But at least one car seat manufacturer, Dorel, has been working on developing enhanced side impact protection since the NHTSA’s alert to Congress in 2004. For example, some of their child safety seats feature air pockets that help cushion a child’s head during a crash, and hexagonal holes in the foam padding to deflect energy from the impact. (Michelle Sokol, The Republic, by way of the Houston Chronicle, 2/7/14)
These new features help extend a child’s “ride-down time” in a wreck. Each fraction of a second of additional ride down time can help reduce the chances of severe injury or death from crash forces.
The comment period for the proposed rule before it gets finalized is 90 days. In another three months, parents and safety advocates will have a better idea of the final rule regarding better child safety seats. Click the link to learn more about how to keep your young child safer in a car seat now.