Jeffrey Lupient on Vital Safety Features of Car Seats

Jeffrey Lupient: Essential Car Seat Safety Features

Child car seats protect what we all hold most dear – our children. That is why Jeffrey Lupient spends considerable time explaining the need for car seats and detailing their safety features so that parents know just how important these add-ons are to their vehicles.

Today, we look at three more essential features of car seats.

Top Tether Strap

You must attach the top tether strap as your child transfers from their rear-facing car seat to their front-facing position. These tethers connect to a hook in the back of the vehicle seat, on the rear dash of a sedan, or sometimes even on the vehicle roof.

The top tether strap keeps the top of your car seat from tipping forward in the event of a crash, which means your child won't whip forward in an accident. According to Jeffrey Lupient, a child will stay safely hugged to the car seat, and the car seat will stay hugged to the seat. A child's head can fly six inches forward without the top tether. It can lead to head strike injuries. Never forget to attach this tether strap as you translate to the front-facing position.

Most of the time, the top tether is only used in the forward-facing position. That said, some seats now offer rear-facing top tether options. These rear-facing top tethers can limit how far the car seat rotates toward the front during a crash, thus absorbing most of the crash energy away from your child. 

Seatbelt Integration.

When your child has outgrown the LATCH system, or you choose not to have it installed, Jeffrey Lupient says it's time to use seat belts. Car seats can be securely installed with the lap belt and shoulder belt. They have to be locked and threaded through the correct belt path in the seat. 

When the car seat is secured with the seatbelt, it's as secure as the LATCH system. Since there are a lot of restrictions on LATCH installation, seatbelt installation is always a great alternative.

Anti-Rebound Bar

 In most road accidents and crashes, the first movement will throw everyone and the car seats toward the front of the vehicle with large amounts of force. It's physics; for every action, there will always be an equal and opposite reaction. In a car crash, there will be a rebound, or "bounce back" effect, after that initial impact. 

Jeffrey Lupient notes that the rebound can involve a lot of movement for a rear-facing car seat. The car seat's anti-rebound bar limits the force and movement. It does this by bracing against the vehicle seat. It can also limit the rotation of the car seat in the event of a side-impact crash. 

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