Users of our message boards had a lot to day about about unsafe infant car seats Thursday. To read the full discussion and add your own messages, click here.
Here is a sampling of edited posts:
Speeding
So the results are not wrong but the speed is. So what they are saying is that at highway speeds their claims are true. And the car seat manufacturers are up in arms because car seats are not meant for highway speeds . So why don't the car manufacturers put a note saying "These seats are meant as a way of spending money and might protect your child from a minor fender bender. For higher speeds we suggest you contact your priest."
— allblnd
Biased, unfair
Consumer Reports is the most biased, unfair unscientific resource out there. Having worked in the auto industry and watched other reports, they do not have any scientific process, and most of their tests are subjective. In addition, their quality ratings from red to dark black circle have no scaling. In that, it's subjective again. I do not and never will trust Consumer Reports. This article and retraction are no surprise and there should be many, many more. Those who rely on Consumer Reports are a misleading themselves and are true followers, not leaders.
— GTO Rocks
Terrified me
Yes! This hurts Consumer Reports' credibility. Especially with me. I'm eight months pregnant with my first child, and need to purchase a car seat not only for our vehicle, but for my mother and mother-in-law who will both be watching our son after I go back to work. This report terrified me, especially since one of the car seats I have (got as a gift) is the one with the base and infant carrier that performed so poorly, which I was going to give to my mom to use (my car is too small for it)! So now I'm really confused and don't know what's safe and what isn't.
— english_queen2001
Outsourcing a problem
They outsource studies. That is problematic to me, and should be to those who trust the magazine. Even if you assume that they are scientific in their studies, and unbiased in their reporting, and the jury is clearly still out on that, how can you assume that the outsourcing firms do the same? How can you tell which studies are outsourced, and which are not?
— evil_robots
Only a guide
Consumer Reports is only a guide. Only we consumers can decide how to use that guide. I think it is ridiculous to judge because we are gullible and seem incapable of making up our own minds. Consumer Reports is subject to errors just like anyone else. I'm sure that every newspaper or magazine in the country have made mistakes, and had to print retractions at some point. Why should it be any different for Consumer Reports? Evening newscasts everywhere have made mistakes. Does that make them any more unreliable? How many times has 60 minutes made mistakes or some biography made mistakes? They are only as good as the people behind them. And people make mistakes, no matter how perfect you try to be.
— betterdayz
Valuable information
I am actually glad that Consumer Reports released the true speeds that their tests had. It gives us parents the valuable information needed to buy a safe car seat. I personally believe that having a test speed at 35 mph is flawed. I am sure that most Americans travel at speeds higher than that with their children in their car every day. I will be sure to purchase one of the car seats that passed at the 70 mph test with complete confidence in Consumer Reports. In fact, I think they should continue to test all seats at both a 35 mph and at 50 mph or higher to give us true everyday results on these products.
— seileen
Scary article
I felt this article should scare parents. It should scare them to research from all aspects on which car seat is the best one. I have always assumed that if a seat is on the shelf for sale, it should be safe. I thought it should be my preference on what I like versus a safety issue. Boy was I wrong. After my son died, I learned that there were multiple reports sited with the car seat I had used. Do your homework and know everything you can possibly know about car seats before putting your precious children in the one you chose. The best thing we can do as parents to protect our children is to suggest stronger testing for car seats.
— deb mom
Shop around
Obviously, Consumer Reports is non-biased, but as amply demonstrated by the recent report on car seats, no one should use only one service or recommendation in forming an opinion as to which consumer product to purchase. Consumer Reports is only one of the many available tools which consumers should be using in conjunction with advice from other consumers and publications. I think if asked, even Consumer Reports would encourage consumers never to rely exclusively on one source in assessing which products to purchase.
— DCPoliticio
Travel system
Everyone that is saying that car seats are unsafe at speeds over 38 mph need to read the original Consumer Reports article. It dealt with a specific type of car seat, called a "detachable infant car seat," or as they are commonly called at the store, a travel system. This type of seat consists of a base that is buckled into the car or truck and left there, then there is a pumpkin seat that snaps onto that can be easily and quickly removed and snapped onto a stroller. The key here is "easily and quickly" removed. This type of setup is much less safe than the standard single-use infant car seat that is installed in the vehicle and left there. Its only purpose of the stand alone car seat is to protect the infant in an accident, not to conveniently carry the child to and from the vehicle. Leave convenience for drive through windows and not your child's safety.
— CallMeSingleDad
Irresponsible outsourcing
If a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to test consumer products for the public's benefit, then Consumer Reports did a very irresponsible thing by outsourcing such an important study. There is a thing in science called double-checking and triple-checking your work. Consumer Reports did a very unscientific thing, and the damage has already been done. Parents all over parents' Web sites were scared into buying new car seats based on the one report alone. Can they get their money back? Alarmist media outlets jumped all over the story and scared parents.
— NeverBoughtIntoIt
Cause for alarm
This was a gross error which caused much alarm. I have less trust in Consumer Reports. I am also concerned that their reports are valid between speeds 60 and 70 mph, as most people travel at this speed on the freeway. I would like to see the muddied waters cleared up.
— great grandma G