Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy’s Investigation into Booster Seat Safety

If you have had a negative experience with a booster seat, you can share your family’s story here.

 

In February 2020, Subcommittee Chair Raja Krishnamoorthi and Subcommittee Member Katie Porter launched an investigation into booster seat safety following reports that Evenflo’s “Big Kid” seats are not safe, particularly for children under 40 pounds.  Throughout this investigation, Krishnamoorthi and Porter requested documents and information from seven of the nation’s largest booster seat manufacturers: Artsana (seller of Chicco brand), Baby Trend, Britax, Dorel, Evenflo, Graco, and KidsEmbrace.   

 

The Subcommittee reviewed thousands of documents in this investigation and found that manufacturers of booster seats have endangered millions of American children and misled consumers about the safety of booster seats by failing to conduct adequate side-impact testing; deceiving consumers with false and misleading statements and material omissions about their side-impact testing protocols; and unsafely recommending that children under 40 pounds and as light as 30 pounds can use booster seats.

 

No booster seats are safe for children under 40 pounds.  Parents should keep children in their car seats with 5-point harnesses for as long as possible before switching to a booster, well beyond 40 pounds.   

 

If you have had a negative experience with a booster seat, you can share your family’s story here.

 

Click here to read the Subcommittee’s staff report: “Booster Seat Manufacturers Give Parents Dangerous Advice: Misleading Claims, Meaningless Safety Testing, and Unsafe Recommendations to Parents About When They Can Transition Their Children from Car Seats to Booster Seats.”

 

Subcommittee Activities:

Oversight Subcommittee Launches Probe into Car Seat Safety

Oversight Subcommittee Seeks Briefing from NHTSA on Children’s Car and Booster Seat Safety Standards

Oversight Subcommittee Investigation Reveals Top Booster Seat Manufacturers Knowingly Misled American Consumers on Safety