How should consumers interpret NHTSA’s Child Restraint Ease of Use Ratings?
Because there are only three levels of ratings, it is possible that many of the seats a consumer may be considering will have the same overall Ease of Use rating. In this case, he/she will want to look at the ratings for each of the five categories and evaluate which of these categories are the most critical to them. For example, if they have never used a child restraint before the labeling and written instructions categories will be important as they will be placing more reliance on them to determine how to use the child restraint than someone who has used a number of child restraints. Or, if they are going to install the child restraint in a vehicle and leave it there, that category will be less important to them than someone who will have to be constantly moving the child restraint between a number of vehicles.
Related Questions
- Should consumers care about Ease of Use Ratings if their vehicle has LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren)?
- Consumers want to know what child restraint fits into their car -- can NHTSA’s program provide this information?
- How should consumers interpret NHTSA’s Child Restraint Ease of Use Ratings?
