Baby on Board

Kid car seats are notoriously tricky. They’re a pain to put in, and often don’t seem to fit quite right. The problem isn’t the parent, it’s the lack of coherence between the design of the car and safety seat. Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) have tackled this problem to help our littlest passengers stay safe. Researchers at UMTRI are crunching data to improve child safety in vehicles. They recently observed parents who were relatively familiar with different kinds of child safety seats as they installed them in a variety of vehicle types. Design goals were identified for car and child seat manufacturers that will lead to easier-to-use safety seats. They’ve also created a website that outlines child passenger safety best practices. http://www.cpsbestpractice.org/ (WEBSITE BROKEN). ABOUT THE RESEARCHERS Miriam A. Manary, Senior Research Area Specialist, UMTRI Biosciences. (http://www.umtri.umich.edu/). Kathleen D. Klinich Associate Research Scientist, UMTRI. The University of Michigan College of Engineering (http://www.engin.umich.edu/). Their research interests include child restraint system testing and evaluation http://www.umtri.umich.edu/what-we-offer/child-restraint-system-testing-and-evaluation