NHTSA Administrator Announces New Child Restraint System: Lower Anchors And Tethers for Children' (LATCH) |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
August 28, 2002
NHTSA 57-02
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
Contact: Elly Martin
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550
Beginning Sept. 1, 2002, the U. S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will require new child safety seats to have a specialized way of attaching to a vehicle seat. Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) is a restraint system designed to work independently of the vehicle seat belt system to simplify child safety seat installation and reduce misuse.
Since Sept. 1, 2000, all vehicle manufacturers have been required to install a top tether anchor in their vehicles. In addition, vehicle manufacturers were required to begin installing lower anchors in at least two rear seating positions in nearly all new passenger vehicles. All new passenger vehicles manufactured after Sept. 1, 2002 will have the LATCH system. Also beginning Sept. 1, 2002, most child safety seats will be required to have a lower set of attachments that fasten to these vehicle anchors. Most forward-facing child safety seats also have a top strap (top tether) that attaches to a tether anchor in the vehicle. Together, they make up the LATCH system.
"LATCH is an important innovation in child restraint and vehicle design. Used properly the system is expected to save up to 50 lives a year and prevent close to 3,000 injuries in a crash. This new technology will help us move forward in our effort to further reduce death and injury among our youngest passengers," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D.
NHTSA estimates that as many as 80 percent of child safety seats are incorrectly used. The agency also estimates that the LATCH system will eliminate as much as half of the misuse associated with the improper installation of child safety seats.
Child safety seats without LATCH technology are still effective in protecting children - as long as they are correctly installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
"The LATCH restraint system will make child restraints easier to use, simpler and more secure," said Dr. Runge. "It will be easier for parents to do the right thing to protect their children."
Although the LATCH system will help resolve installation misuse, parents and drivers must still be sure to:
Place their children in an appropriate safety seat. Make sure that the child is the appropriate height, weight and/or age for the child safety seat.
Place children in the back seat. The back seat is the safest place for children.
Never place a rear-facing child restraint in the front seat with an air bag.
Install the child safety seat properly in the vehicle.
Check that the child safety seat harness straps are tight.
Place children in a booster seat once they reach 40 pounds.
Not prematurely move children to an adult seat belt system. Children should continue to ride in a booster seat in the back seat if they are under 4 feet, 9 inches tall.
Stay informed as to whether their child safety seat has been recalled.