Website with safety data on car seats?

It is time to move mu daughter to a bigger car seat and I want to get her a good one. It needs to have great safety ratings, while also being able to grow with her. Is there a reliable website where I can find this information, and does anyone have any suggestions?|||http://www.car-seat.org./index.php|||Well I know that a friend of mine and I were looking for a bigger car seat for her son and we found one that holds up to 100 lbs and it converts from a forward facing car seat to booster, to backless booster at walmart. It is now recommended that anyone under 4'11 be in a booster unless the weight of the child is at or exceeds 100 lbs. This comes from local fire department and rescue squad here in maryland. The brand of the car seat I believe was Graco.|||I would go with anything Britax, the Safety 1st All-in-one-convertible car seat or the Graco Nautilus. These all have great ratings, are known for their safety and can be used for a long time.





I would check out this website here..





http://www.findmycarseat.com/





You can sort by brands, price and the type you're looking for. Not to mention there are also reviews! I found this website helpful and I think you might too! :)|||We have a graco nautilus in both cars. They are a little heavy, but super sturdy...and they have one of the highest weight allowances for 5-pt harnesses on the market (65 pounds!). After the five point, it does convert into a regular booster and finally a backless booster. The booster goes up to 100 pounds. It really is the last car seat I'm ever going to buy.





This website was really helpful to me in making that decision.





http://www.car-safety.org/guide.html





It has a lot of links to find ratings are car seat buying guides.





Hope it helps, good luck!|||Unfortunately, there are no great websites out there. Only ones with user reviews. Usually those are done the day parents strap the seats into the car--not after extended use. Keep in mind you want her rear facing for as long as possible--even if she's at 20 lbs and 12 mos. AAP is recommending 18 mos or the limit of your convertible seat, whichever one is longer.





Britax is one of the safest brands on the market. It is crash tested at higher speeds than other brands, it has a steel frame, it has straps that cannot twist, meaning that the force of a crash is evenly distributed across your child's body instead of twisted into four points like Gracos, Coscos, Evenflos, Safety 1sts, and Eddie Bauers (they crash test at 30 mph in a frontal impact only). Another seat that I am really liking right now is the Recaro. Recaro makes safety harnesses for Nascar, so they know what they're doing as far as keeping people safe at high speeds in crashes. All of their seats have side impact protection. Studies have shown that rear facing for as long as possible will help save your child's life, as will keeping her in a 5 pt. harness for as long as possible. So many parents switch to a booster too soon because they're cheaper and more convenient. The seats I listed are wonderful--they have side impact protection, which means they were crash tested in side impact crash tests, in addition to frontal impact crashes. Britax and Recaro test their seats at 40-45 mph in a front and rear impact crash--obviously with side impact protection in a car seat, that type of testing is also done.





What to Look For:


Side Impact Protection


Steel Frame


Thick straps that are not slippery--slippery straps twist


Harnessed weight limit of at least 65 lbs





Excellent Seats:


Britax Boulevard (harness to 65)


Britax Advocate (harness to 65)


The First Years C630 Tru Fit (harness to 65)


Recaro Como (harness to 70)


Recaro Signo (harness to 70)








I have a Britax Regent in my car right now and it's the best seat I've ever used. It's bulky and heavy, but I'd like to think it's heavy for a reason. It's front facing only, but it harnesses to 80 lbs. It's well-padded and I've had 7 year olds harnessed in it without problems and they weren't in the top harness slot, so had room to grow.





The Britax Marathon is an excellent seat, as well, but it does not have Side Impact Protection. I have two Britax seats in my car right now and could not be happier. However, I think for my next seat, I'll probably go with a Recaro just because they may be safer--after all, Nascar drivers crash all the time and they walk out completely unharmed. I would want kids to do the same!