Of 17 new-for-2012 booster seats identified by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 15 received the organization?s top rating of Best Bet. Accounting for previously evaluated models on the market, the latest evaluation brings the total of Best Bet boosters to 47.
That represents the highest number of top-rated boosters since 2008, when the I.I.H.S., which is financed by the insurance industry, began evaluating the seats. In 2008 only 10 were rated Best Bets.
Booster seats are intended to fill the gap between the time a child is too big for a safety seat, with its internal harnesses, and too small for a vehicle?s seat belts to fit correctly.
In another first, the number of booster seats on the market that are rated Best Bets outpaces the tally in any other individual category; five seats are rated a Good Bet, 37 are in the Check Fit category and two fall in the Not Recommended group.
A Best Bet indicates that a booster would correctly position belts on a typical 4- to 8-year-old in almost any car, minivan or sport utility vehicle. A Good Bet provides an acceptable fit in most vehicles. Check Fit indicates it may work well in some vehicles, but not as many as one rated a Best Bet or Good Bet.
Models are classified Not Recommended when they do not provide the proper seat belt fit. Just two fell in the category in 2012, a welcome decrease from 2008, when 13 models received the classification, the study?s authors noted.
The two Not Recommended products, the Safety 1st All-in-One and Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite, both manufactured by Dorel Juvenile Group, have been on the Not Recommended list since 2009, when they were first evaluated.
Five seats manufactured by Dorel are Best Bets, while one is a Good Bet and 12 are rated as Check Fit.
Four other booster seats that were on the Not Recommended list last year, all made by Evenflo Company, have been discontinued.
The institute emphasized, as is its tendency every year, that parents would not have to spend a fortune for a booster seat to fit their child in a Best Best model, though they certainly could. Best Bets in 2012 range from $19 to $300, with several models selling at the lower end.
Evaluations performed by the I.I.H.S. focus on correct seat belt fit. The boosters themselves are not crash-tested because safety belts are expected to provide the protection needed by a child in a crash, the institute says.
For the full list of the institute?s latest ratings, click here.
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