Are Todays Rear Facing Car Seats Safer?

Car seats today are beautiful with trendy colors and nice features.  But are they safer?  Maybe, but there are also some problems with today’s trends.  Rear facing car seats 30 years ago offered very nice protection for a child.  Arguably as good as today.  Car seats today are far heavier and also more expensive, two factors which are negatively correlated with car seat safety.

Thomas Turbell, the father of rear facing, says car seats today are not necessarily better.  He would like to complement today’s selection with a very simple, and cheap rear facing seat.

“Volvo developed a good car seat in 1970.  Today, most car manufacturers have stopped producing their own car seats which is a bad idea.  It’s the car manufacturers who have the knowledge and know how car seats work.”

Many parents forget the main feature of rear facing is the position, to travel in opposite direction.  It’s  not the design of the seat. Sure, there are some great seats and some average seats but it’s rear facing which save lives.  There is this constant quest of finding the latest “best in test” seat which many times doesn’t tell the whole truth.

It’s a natural reaction by parents wanting the best for a child, much of the responsibility of this development is caused by  dealers who might have a preference for a particular product. “Best in test” can be an indication a car seat is very good but don’t forget all tests are carried out differently.