Educational Materials for the Child Passenger Safety Field
News
Using car seats, boosters, and set belts for children of all ages.
Readers should note a change in the format of recall information provided by NHTSA, which was brought to SRN’s attention by Sixtus Dominguez, CPST Proxy of the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board Inc. (AAIHB) and Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AASTEC) Tribal Injury Prevention Program (TIPP).
Read More from “NHTSA’s Recall List Format”A happy aspect of modern CR design is the near uniformity of the system that shortens and lengthens the harness webbing: a front-and-center adjuster strap with a nearby locking/unlocking mechanism.
This familiar system relies on the functionality of a simple lock, which is commonly called a central front adjuster, or CFA. When a CFA is undisturbed, a spring holds its toothed metal clamp onto the CR’s adjuster strap webbing, preventing the harness from moving in the direction that would allow it to lengthen, so it is locked; to unlock and lengthen the harness, simply use a finger to rotate or toggle the CFA so it no longer clamps onto the webbing.
Read More from “Reminder: Keep Debris Out of CR’s Harness Locking Mechanism”A 2024 Kidz in Motion Conference session titled CPS Outreach Strategies and Resources for Tribal Nations and Spanish-Speaking Communities provided important information for any CPS program.
As CPSTs know, following CR instructions is essential. A few other considerations are equally important, including following the vehicle instructions and addressing the safety needs of all passengers. Whenever CR instructions intersect with these other considerations, CPSTs must carefully consider all aspects when advising caregivers. “Seatback touching” is such a situation, so this article looks at some of the related considerations.
Read More from “Hot Topic: Rear-Facing CRs Touching Seatbacks in Front of Them”A caregiver recently emailed SRN the following question:
Now that our kiddo can walk, I am thinking about buying one of those seat mats for our car to protect the upholstery from muddy shoes. I’ve seen friends use them, but are they safe?
As CPSTs know, the transition to winter wear presents an annual challenge to properly using CR harnesses.
Read More from “CPSTs: Gear Up to Explain Why Coats and CRs Don’t Mix”In recent years, recalls directly related to CPS have been more common among vehicles than CRs. And, since all recalls are safety-related, any vehicle recall (including the vastly greater number that are not specifically about CPS) can indirectly harm child passengers. So, the fact that NHTSA says over 50 million vehicles on the road have one or more open recalls is a serious safety concern.
Read More from “Checking for Recalls? Don’t Forget the Vehicle”In this regular column, SRN shares vehicle-related information from Katrina Rose, SRN collaborator and vehicle liaison for the LATCH Manual. For the March/April 2023 issue, Katrina shared answers to some questions posed by technicians regarding pickup trucks.
Because pickup trucks are very popular while at the same time often challenging for CR use, SRN focuses special attention on understanding them so we can provide helpful guidance in our publications, such as the LATCH Manual.
Read More from “Ask Katrina: Sometimes, Finding Information for Using CRs in Pickup Trucks Is Half the Battle”In a new column, “Ask Katrina,” SRN will share vehicle-related CPS information from Katrina Rose, SRN collaborator and vehicle liaison for the LATCH Manual. Katrina regularly fields questions posed by technicians in the field, so this column will provide an opportunity to share her answers and insights with all SRN readers.
We’ll kick off the column with a fundamental question:
Read More from ““Ask Katrina” Column”A few years ago, SRN reported on an emerging phenomenon: CRs with features that looked and acted like lock-offs but weren’t.
Since then, these features have become more common. Nowadays, CPSTs who see anything that looks like a lock-off ask, “Is that a true lock-off?” While a mechanism that functions as a lock-off must be a “true,” authentic lock-off, “true lock-off” has become part of the CPST vernacular when wondering whether a CR part that appears to be a lock-off actually is one.
Read More from “The Truth About “True” Lock-Offs”
