Safety experts are worried that there is an unexpected and potentially dangerous side effect of a new car seat anchoring system called LATCH. A California child was nearly strangled by a seat belt while riding in her car seat using the LATCH system.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reviewing the incident. SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A., a national nonprofit dedicated to child passenger safety has characterized the incidents as a major problem that "needs to be addressed immediately."
The new LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system is required on most child safety seats and cars manufactured after 2002, but is not yet in widespread use.
The LATCH approach uses a set of hooks and straps, called tethers, on the safety seat which are attached to bars and hooks embedded in the vehicle seats. The system does not use a vehicle's lap-shoulder seat belts, which are left hanging free.
In March Kaitlin Sipes, 3, of Rancho Murieta, Calif., was nearly strangled by one of those unoccupied seat belts. The child survived but her experience has prompted several pediatric and passenger safety experts to recommend that parents consider locking seat belts behind car seats when using LATCH to deter children from playing with loose belts.
The California incident occurred just 23 days after a boy in Lancaster County, Va., was strangled by a lap-shoulder seat belt in a parked vehicle. The 3 year old was watching a movie in the back seat and somehow got his neck hooked in the belt.
