The test video of car crashes may be hard to watch, but harder still is what can happen to a child that is improperly restrained or in an improper booster seat.
Test results being released Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are providing a boost for booster seats.
Ann McCartt, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says boosters are a better job that they did a few years ago.
In 2008, the institute could only find 10 booster seats worthy of its "best bet" rating. Today there are nearly 50, including 12 models introduced this year like the Graco Turbobooster and the Harmony Highback. The institute these and others allow the lap belt to fit tightly over the thighs.
"It's not riding up on the tummy, which is prone to injury in a crash. And the shoulder belt is fitting snuggly across the center of the shoulder. It's not riding off to the side, it's not riding up on the neck," says McCartt.
Manufacturer Dorel Juvenile Group has five of its booster seats on the institute's "best bet" list.
Two others, the Safety 1st All-In-One and Alpha Omega Elite, were the only two "not recommended" because the institute says they leave the lap belt too high on the abdomen and the shoulder belt too far out on the shoulder.
In a statement Dorel said it stands behind all of its seats that have been proven to protect children in real-world situations and real-world crashes.
Boosters are generally intended for 4 to 8-year-olds who weigh up to 80 pounds.
