Ford Motor Co. plans to equip all its 2000 models with the top tether mounts. Its Windstar and new Focus models will also come with the lower mounts. A government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Volkswagen may also get a head start by announcing that all three attachment points will be standard equipment on its 2000 model year Beetles. Car accidents are the leading killer of children ages 14 and under. With dozens of seats being offered to protect infants and toddlers, parents have been frustrated by the difficulty of finding the right one for their vehicles.
Automobiles also come with a wide variety of seats and seat belt designs, adding to the confusion.
On Monday, Jim Hall, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, asked states to get moving on setting up fitting stations where parents can have child restraints installed and checked. So far, two are doing so, New York and South Carolina. The new head protection regulation reduces the amount a child's head can move in a 30 mph crash from 32 inches to 28 inches. While some existing seats can meet the stiffer requirement without a tether strap, most cannot. The rest of the tether and anchor system was proposed as a means of standardizing seat installation.