After missing its own deadline, NHTSA announces side-impact crash-test standard for child car seats

After missing its own January 2022 deadline, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Wednesday announced its long-delayed side-impact crash-test standard for child car-seats.

"Side-impact collisions cause serious injuries and deaths in young children each year," said NHTSA Administrator Dr. Steven Cliff. "By establishing more comprehensive testing requirements, we are advancing child passenger safety and assuring parents that the safety seat they choose for their child must meet the highest safety standards."

The new crash-test rules come after a series of reports by ProPublica and CBS News in 2020 found some booster seats received a passing grade during side-impact crash tests — despite the fact that the test dummies were violently tossed around during the tests.