Child safety seats (CSS) significantly reduce risk of fatal injury for infants and toddlers. Observational studies, however, have repeatedly shown very high rates of CSS mis-installation and other misuse which may reduce their effectiveness. A previous study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety examined issues with the current state of the Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) system in passenger vehicles, in order to inform possible revisions to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations governing LATCH. That study presents recommendations for improving the LATCH system to increase the rate of correct installation of CSSs based on a review of the contextual background of LATCH and usability issues; a workshop of Child Passenger Safety (CPS) instructors, technicians, and human factors experts; and a human factors systems analysis focused on user errors during installation of a CSS using LATCH. NHTSA is currently initiating an update of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 225, which regulates the vehicle components of LATCH and how CSSs are secured to the vehicle. Quesenbery’s “5 E’s of Usability” were used as a guideline for evaluating LATCH. According to Quesenbery, end user products should be effective, efficient, engaging, error tolerant, and easy to learn. This report presents the results of a national survey of CPS instructors and technicians. The objective of the survey was to supplement the previous study with insights from these professionals regarding their observations of how parents and other caregivers use and misuse LATCH, and their opinions regarding how the LATCH system could be improved to facilitate proper use and reduce the prevalence of serious misuse. The LATCH system has been required since September 2002 (model year 2003) in all passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less and buses with a weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, per FMVSS 225. The purpose of this standard was to “ensure…proper location and strength for the effective securing of child restraints, to reduce the likelihood of the anchorages systems’ failure, and to increase the likelihood that child restraints are properly secured and thus more fully achieve their potential effectiveness in motor vehicles. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting