The nation's family of dummies has a new addition.
On Tuesday, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration introduced a new crash test dummy meant to simulate a 10-year-old.
“Our new dummy is an excellent addition to NHTSA’s extensive child seat compliance testing program and will enable the agency to gather the best data yet on the performance of higher-weight child seats,” said David Strickland, NHTSA Administrator.
The agency said child safety seats meant for larger, heavier children are becoming more popular. The 10-year-old crash test dummy is meant to give the agency a better tool to measure the safety of new safety seats and boosters meant for children weighing between 65 and 85 pounds.
New federal guidelines encourage parents to keep kids in car seats as long as possible, until they fit in a seatbelt properly.
The agency says a child becomes big enough to properly fit in a seatbelt somewhere between 8 and 12 years and old, when they get 4 feet 9 inches or taller.
