The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute have tested 41 booster seats and in a press release today identified 13 - many of them current boosters by leading manufacturers - as not providing "the full benefit of improved lap belt fit. These boosters may increase restraint use by making children more comfortable, but they don't position belts for optimal protection."

"We evaluated the safety belt fit boosters provide, not crash protection," says Institute president Adrian Lund. "This is because unlike child restraints, boosters don't restrain children in crashes. They simply position children so lap and shoulder belts are in the right place to restrain them." Good boosters route belts across a child's bony parts, not soft parts like the abdomen, which is more vulnerable to injury."

The "worst bets"

Below, the thirteen booster seats recommended against by the research bodies.

Highback boosters

• Compass B505


• Compass B510


• Cosco/Dorel Traveler


• Evenflo Big Kid Confidence

Backless boosters

• Safety Angel Ride Ryte

Combination seats

• Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega


• Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit


• Cosco Highback Booster


• Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect


• Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch


• Evenflo Generations


• Graco CarGo Zephyr


• Safety 1st/Dorel Intera

You can read the IIHS report here, and access their research findings in PDF form here.

Better boosters

The researchers also identified fifteen "best" or "good" bets, which do a better job of positioning the safety belt. From the report (any links are ours):

Best bets include 3 backless seats: Combi Kobuk, Fisher-Price Safe Voyage, and Graco TurboBooster. These may require plastic clips to correctly position shoulder belts. Six highbacks are best bets: Britax Monarch, Britax Parkway, Fisher-Price Safe Voyage, LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear, Recaro Young Style, and Volvo booster cushion. Another best bet is the combination seat Safeguard Go when it's used as a backless booster. Combination seats convert to boosters by removing their built-in harnesses. At least 5 of the best-bet boosters have been discontinued but still are sold.

The 5 good bets provide acceptable belt fit in almost as many vehicle belt configurations. They are highbacks Combi Kobuk, Graco TurboBooster, and Safety Angel Ride Ryte, and combinations Recaro Young Sport and Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65, when used as highbacks.

Our view

ZRecs has long advised that parents keep children in 5-point harnesses and car seats as long as possible, much longer than the minimum legal ages and weights at which many booster seat manufacturers encourage parents to make the switch. Remember, height and weight minimums for making any change in protection for your child are just that - minimums - and are often much lower than the maximum allowable, and every move "up" in seating arrangements is a move down in terms of the level of protection provided to your child. This goes for going from rear- to front-facing, as well as switching to a booster.

For alternatives to booster seat use for young children, see our in-depth review of the Britax Frontier. We also recommend the Radian 80, which is narrower and so is better suited for some smaller vehicles. You can purchase these on Amazon.com using the links in this paragraph, or purchase them from Hipmonkey, a car seat retailer established to raise funds for the Kyle David Miller Foundation, a charity that donates extended-harness car seats to impoverished families.

You can also read our interview with a Britax technician, which covers a lot of ground regarding booster seats, and why Britax is getting out of the business of making them altogether.

A friendly reminder from ZRecs to check your car seats. Follow these steps to make sure that what's supposed to be keeping your children safe while you drive, actually is:

• Make sure the harness straps are set at the appropriate height for your child - typically at the car seat's notch above the shoulders for forward-facing and below the shoulders for rear-facing.


• Check your car seat documentation to make sure your child is within not only height or weight limits but any other limits specified by the car seat manufacturer. Some car seats require that the child's ears be at or below the top of the shell, for example.


• If your child weighs more than 40 pounds it may be time to reinstall your seat from the LATCH installation to the seat belt installation. You can find the LATCH weight limits for your specific car in your car manual - these are set by the car manufacturer, not the car seat manufacturer.


• If you haven't yet met with a car seat technician to make sure you are installing your car seat correctly - especially if you have a new seat or have changed the installation from LATCH to seat belt - please take a minute to set up an appointment. You can find a certified technician here.


• If you've already done all these things, then give yourself a pat on the back and give your car seat a tug to make sure it is securely installed and hasn't come loose since you installed it.

If you'll need a new car seat soon, check out the semi-annual Britax sale but hurry, it only lasts a week! We have Britax infant seat sale recommendations on Polliwogged and for later seats on Z Recommends.