November 02, 2013 - Britax Enhances Booster Seat Safety

Continuing its 70-year commitment to safety and innovation, Britax redesigned its belt-positioning and Harness-2-Booster seats in 2013.

Britax enhanced its easily-portable, belt-positioning booster seats, the Parkway SG and the Parkway SGL, with several exclusive head-safety features including Base with SafeCell Technology and deeper side walls featuring True Side Impact Protection.

Britax expanded its Harness-2-Booster line with the new Pioneer 70, which includes premium safety technologies, such as Integrated Steel Bars, Base with SafeCell Technology and Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether. The company also introduced the Frontier 90 and Pinnacle 90 with the revolutionary ClickTight Installation System. ClickTight technology allows parents to install the seat in harness mode up to 90 pounds safely, securely and easily using the vehicle's seat belt.

Parkway SG and Parkway SGL Receive "Best Bet" Rating

In its November 2013 report, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ranked the Parkway SG and Parkway SGL as "BEST BETs" in high-back booster mode. IIHS also recommended parents confirm proper positioning (i.e., "Check Fit") for lap and shoulder belts when using the booster mode of Britax's Frontier 90, Pinnacle 90 and Pioneer 70 Harness-2-Booster seats in certain conditions. In harness mode, these three seats properly fit nearly all vehicles and children. When a child is transitioned to booster mode – before he or she outgrows forward-facing harness mode – the lap belt may not fit low and tight across a child's upper thighs without the use of the Britax SecureGuard accessory clip.

The IIHS report evaluates how adult lap and shoulder belts from a wide variety of vehicles fit booster seats from a variety of manufacturers. The assessment is not a crash test. Rather, IIHS measures how a vehicle's three-point lap and shoulder belt fits an average child-sized dummy seated in a booster.

"Our uncompromising commitment to safety, reflected in the ongoing enhancements of our products, has made Britax a name trusted by millions of parents and caregivers throughout the world," said Jon Chamberlain, president of Britax. "Britax products undergo the most rigorous testing in the industry and we work closely with child passenger safety technicians, child safety advocates and vehicle manufacturers to ensure all Britax seats can be properly installed and used correctly each and every time."

Britax will implement a slight change on the Frontier 90, Pinnacle 90 and Pioneer 70 by January 2014 that will be designed to address the occasional instance where proper belt fit is not achieved.

Harness-2-Booster Seat Best Practices

Britax recommends parents secure children using a five-point harness as long as possible. A child should transition from harness to booster mode only when he or she outgrows the seated shoulder height limit and/or weight capacity.

Britax offers a full line of infant/child and combination Harness-2-Booster seats with some of the highest top harness slots in the industry. However, when a child is ready for booster mode, Britax recommends parents use the following guidelines to ensure the booster seat and vehicle seat belt are properly positioned:

• The lap belt should fit low and tight across the child's upper thighs, not the soft abdomen.
• The shoulder belt should fit snugly across the child's mid-chest and shoulder. The vehicle belt should NOT be positioned over the child's neck, under the child's arm or behind the child's back.
• Either the booster seat or the vehicle head restraint should be adjusted properly for the child's height.

Britax encourages parents to call representatives at its Consumer Services department at 1-888-427-4829 or visit a local car seat checking station with any concerns regarding the fit or installation of any child car seat at any time.