In January 2007, CU published and then—two weeks later—retracted its test results of 12 rear-facing child restraints that had been widely publicized and printed in the February 2007 edition of Consumer Reports. The report drew considerable media attention and led to panic on the part of many parents, who snatched up the only two that were recommended or, by some reports, tried to return other models to retailers.

Several expert advisors to Safe Ride News suspected from the very beginning that the side-impact testing was not performed in the usual manner due to the unexpectedly disastrous test results.  CU refused several requests for basic information about their side-impact test procedures.

NHTSA issued a rulemaking proposal in November 2007 covering school bus seat belts and related issues.  The core proposals are:

• New small school buses (under 10,000 pounds) would be required to have lap-shoulder belts integrated into their seats; optional for larger school buses.
• Any school bus seats with lap-shoulder belts would have to pass certain performance tests.�
• All buses would be required to have seat backs about four inches higher than what is now required. (Some states, such as New York, already require the higher seat backs.)
• Lower seat cushions would need to be permanently attached in place so they cannot come out of the seat frame.  (Currently, most bus seats have cushions that flip up for cleaning purposes and have been found to come loose in crashes.)

Safe Ride News and SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. submitted joint comments.  They and other commenters, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Coalition for School Bus Safety, said the proposal did not go far enough, because it did not require three-point seat belts for all school buses.  They said the vast majority of pupils ride on large buses and these children deserve the protection of seat belts in the infrequent but catastrophic crashes that can involve school buses. Additionally, having seat belts on school buses reinforces the habit of buckling up and also has been shown in practice to improve student behavior so the driver can concentrate on the road.