Is LATCH safer?

Is using LATCH to secure a child restraint safer than using the vehicle's safety belts?

The simple answer is that in the crash test lab, they are equally safe**. But in the real-world the lower anchors may be safer because they are EASIER to use. The LATCH system's designers hoped that easier would mean fewer mistakes made in securing the child safety seat, and therefore fewer injuries in a crash. It is not yet clear if LATCH is safer in real-world crashes. One small study found that parents were making the same mistakes with LATCH as they made with the vehicles safety belt--the child safety seat was not secured tightly to the vehicle and that the child was too loose in the harness.  Your vehicle may be a large part of the problem--a 2012 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute showed that only 21 out of the 98 most popular 2010-2011 model year vehicles had LATCH designs that were easy to use.  Parents were 19 times more likely to install a child safety seat correctly in a vehicle with easy to use latch designs.

Here are a few things that have been proven to be safer:

1. Always use a tether on a forward-facing child safety seat. Remember, it doesn't matter if you are using the vehicle's safety belt or the lower anchors to secure the forward-facing child safety seat. You CAN still use the tether.

2. Ride in the center of the back seat. The center seat is 43% safer than the side seats because you can't take a direct hit in the center. While the lower anchors allow for an easy installation, the center of most vehicles do NOT have lower anchors. It is usually NOT ALLOWED to use the inner lower anchors from the side vehicle seats to secure a child safety seat in the center of the backseat. Assuming your vehicle does not have lower anchors for the center seat, it is usually best to try to get a tight installation using the vehicle's safety belt in the center seat first. If this does not work, try installing the child safety seat on the side using the lower anchor strap. Of course ALWAYS use the top tether for forward-facing child safety seats.

**Please note that for kids who are heavier than the weight limit for the lower anchors, the vehicle's safety belt is safer and should always be used.