Hopefully this is the last chapter in the Orbit Baby vs. Consumer Reports debacle. It appears Orbit baby has won a decisive victory! Consumer Reports should be ashamed of themselves for neglecting to follow manufacturer guidelines and then failing the product. I can't even begin to imagine the panic this caused among thousands of Orbit Baby parents, including myself. Yesterday I spoke with the manager of my local baby gear store who shared that CR's baby department is a complete joke that regularly wreaks havoc in the baby gear industry. After this performance I have to agree. The good news is we don't have to give up our much loved Orbit Baby Infant travel system, the thought of which nearly brought me to tears!
Dear Orbit Baby parent,
As I mentioned in my last letter to you in regards to the Consumer Reports testing of the Orbit Baby Infant Car Seat, we referred this matter to NHTSA, the government agency responsible for car seat safety. I am pleased to share the following information:
Update September 1, 2009: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tested the Orbit Baby Infant Car Seat for compliance with all crash testing requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213. NHTSA confirmed that the Infant Car Seat passes these tests.
NHTSA also independently verified:
The middle shoulder harness slot is the appropriate slot for the size of the official CRABI 12 test dummy.
The knob on the car seat Base should be turned to engage the StrongArm™ tightening mechanism to achieve the regulated seat belt tension for compliance testing.
Therefore, our Infant Car Seat not only passes our own tests in independent labs, it also passes tests conducted by NHTSA, the government agency that regulates traffic safety.
Orbit Baby maintains that Consumer Reports did not properly follow the Infant Car Seat instructions when they conducted their tests. (Our full response can be found here.) As an Orbit Baby parent, I believe that this issue highlights the importance of following car seat instructions, as well as the need for parents to educate grandparents, babysitters, and other caregivers on proper car seat usage.
Please be sure to take advantage of these helpful resources on our website:
View Car Seat installation videos
Read the Orbit Baby article on "The Correct Harness Position for Rear-Facing Car Seats"
Download Orbit Baby product manuals
Orbit Baby’s position on car seat safety can always be found here
Email us with any further questions at support@orbitbaby.com
Thank you for your support of Orbit Baby.
Sincerely,
Joseph Hei
CEO and Co-founder of Orbit Baby
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