What North Dakota Parents Need to Know About New Car Seat Safety Standards

Parents and soon-to-be parents in North Dakota might be interested in this. New car seat standards are coming early next month, on December 5th. According to Valley News Live, newly manufactured child car seats must adhere to the latest federal safety standards. The changes are designed to improve protection in side-impact (T-bone) and front-end crashes.

What's Changing?

The source says this new car seat testing will better reflect the actual setup of a real back seat and seat belts in today's (newer) vehicles. This will replace the old testing setup, where crash-test simulations were largely done only with the lap-only seat belt design.

As far as side impacts go, they will now be testing car seats to see how well they protect the child's head, back, and body when another vehicle hits the car from the side. A simulator door will also be used in this simulation.

Covered car seats must meet the new federal performance standards.

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Do I Need To Do Anything?

Remember, this does not mean you have to throw out your old or current car seat because of these changes. These safety standards and the deadline are for manufacturers. The NHTSA first introduced these side-impact rules in 2022; now manufacturers must comply by the December 5th deadline (2026).

All you need to do is make sure your current car seat is appropriate for your child's size, weight, and age, and that it is not expired or recalled.