NHTSA Unveils New Crash Test Dummy
During Child Passenger Safety Week, which concluded on September 26, 2020, the United States Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed new regulatory updates aimed to improve car seat safety for children. The agency also introduced a new crash test dummy. The purpose of both is to save young lives.
The new crash test dummy is called the Q3S, and it represents a three-year-old child. The Q3S is the first child-sized side-impact dummy in federal regulatory tests. It was designed specifically for testing the efficacy of child seats involved in side-impact crash testing. The advanced test dummy is intended to provide more comprehensive data about how side-impact collisions affect children. The NHTSA’s approval of the new crash test dummy will enable the agency to evaluate the safety of child restraint seats in side impacts.
Watch the YouTube video on car seat safety testing:
Further Updates for Car Seat Safety
NHTSA also proposed a number of upgrades to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 213 – Frontal Impact Tests for Child Restraint Systems with the goal of establishing testing that more closely represents the use of real-world child seats in newer vehicles. These proposed upgrades include a requirement that the child seats are labeled with an encouragement to keep young children in rear-facing child restraint seats until they reach the age, height, and weight limits for that particular seat. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) from the NHTSA also requests comment on providing flexibility for labeling requirements for child seats that would better inform the public about the use of child restraint systems. The proposed new labeling would allow additional ways for caregivers and parents to register the child safety seats in order to receive any future recall information.
A separate NPRM issued by NHTSA proposed an amendment to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 that would update the child restraint systems that were listed in the Appendix. The child restraint systems outlined in the Appendix are employed by NHTSA to test vehicles’ suppression of airbags or low-risk deployment operatives in order to ensure the mitigation of risk of harm to infants and children. This Appendix has not been updated since 2008, and many of those car seat models are not available any longer. Performing an update to the list of products will facilitate auto manufacturers and testing labs to include newer seats in their tests.
Roseville Personal Injury Lawyer
Hello, and thanks for taking the time to look over our blog. My name is Ed Smith, and I’m a Roseville personal injury lawyer. For decades, my firm has been advocating for those who have been injured by the negligence of others. With our skilled legal counsel, we have been able to help many Roseville residents recover monetary damages to compensate for their medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If you or someone you love has suffered injuries due to a negligent person or business, contact my office for free, friendly advice. Our phone numbers (local and out of area) are 916.921.6400 and 800.404.5400. I also include an option to communicate with me online to contact us.
I am a California member of the Million Dollar Advocates, which is a legal association that recognizes trial lawyers who have achieved jury verdicts or settlements for clients of at least a million dollars.
For almost 40 years, I have represented injured Roseville residents and other Northern Californians for all sorts of motor vehicle collisions, including cases involving tragic wrongful death.
I provided the links that follow so that you can see what my prior clients have to say about my legal services, and also look at some of our successful case resolutions:
Photo Attribution: https://unsplash.com/photos/k03ih6IqkDY
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