BubbleBum Booster Seat Rates Highly in Evaluations

BubbleBum Booster Seat Rates Highly in Evaluations

19 October 2011
Immediate Release

The BubbleBum booster seat has earned a high rating as a Best Bet booster seat by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the US.

The IIHS is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage that result from crashes on US roads. Their research focuses on three main factors: human, vehicle, and environmental.

The focus of the Institute's ratings is belt fit, not crash performance, and no crash tests were conducted as part of the evaluation. To assess belt fit, engineers use a test dummy representing an average-size 6 year-old. They measure how lap and shoulder belts fit the dummy in each booster under 4 conditions representing the range of belt configurations in real-world vehicles.
A ‘Best Bet’ rating by the IIHS means any top-rated booster seat will correctly position a car safety belt on a typical 4-8 year old in almost any family SUV or regular car.
A notable newcomer to the ‘BEST BET’ list was the BubbleBum, a compact and inflatable seat that's marketed for holidays, car pools, and taxis, as well as everyday use. When needed, it can be quickly inflated by blowing into a valve at the back of the seat.
The BubbleBum booster seat is distributed exclusively in New Zealand through Wanaka company, Diverse Limited, General Manager Kelly Good says research indicates that using a belt-positioning booster seat for children up to 148cm will help avoid serious injury in the event of a car accident.

“I whole heartedly agree with the findings of the IIHS. They suggested boosters elevate children and position safety belts so the belts will fit them better – a key design feature of the BubbleBum.”

Mrs Good commented that when a child is involved in a car crash and has been restrained using a seatbelt that doesn’t fit properly it could cause severe head, spine or abdominal injury.

“According to the most recent research into the effectiveness of booster seats from the American Academy of Paediatrics, children aged 4 to 8 using a belt-positioning booster seat had approximately half the injury risk as children in seat belts.”

The IIHS commented that the lap belt should lie flat and on top of a child's upper thighs, not higher up on the abdomen. The shoulder belt should fit across the middle of a child's shoulder. If it falls off the shoulder or rests on the neck, a child might move the belt behind their back or under an arm.

Booster seats are for children who have outgrown forward-facing child restraints. A booster should elevate a child and route the lap and shoulder belts, which are designed for adults, in the correct position to restrain a child during a crash.

“Some boosters do this better than others. The problem is that consumers can't tell a good booster from a bad one just by comparing features or prices, we hope that these findings will help guide parents in finding the best booster seat for their children and their vehicle,” said Mrs Good.

The BubbleBum retails in New Zealand for $89.95 and is available online at http://www.bubblebum.co.nz and at selected retailers.

Full details of the IIHS’s findings can be found at http://www.iihs.org/

ENDS

© Scoop Media