There are certain things in life that you want to know are undeniably true. Among those is certainly the notion that your child’s safety seat is in fact safe.

However, in recent years there have been a number of recalls due to unsafe child seats (which had previously been classified as safe), and as such, Consumer Reports is changing its entire safety seat testing procedures.

These new testing procedures, which have taken over 2 years of research to develop, are specifically designed to more rigorously test safety seats, as well as taking into account the changing conditions of modern vehicle interiors.

Consumer Reports is essentially testing for things above and beyond what the United States already requires. They call it an “extra margin.” Seats that are not likely to provide that extra margin are classified as basic, and the ratings go all the way up to seats that are most likely to provide the extra margin (best).

One of the new things added in testing was a front seatback, which is crucial for rear-facing child seats, as the impact of the seat itself or a child’s head coming in contact with the front seat can be drastic.

In order to create these new testing procedures, CR researched infant and toddler biomechanics, as well as injuries sustained in current vehicle crashes. In addition, they studied crash footage provided to them by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada.

Consumer Reports has tested 34 of the most popular child seats, and their ratings are up on their website, consumerreports.org.

If your child has been injured in a car crash due to an unsafe or defective child seat, do not hesitate to get in touch with a skilled child injury attorney today.