Press Release

Consumer Reports Says Evenflo Travel Tandem Child Safety Seats Unacceptable

09/12/96

Consumer Reports Finds Evenflo Travel Tandem Infant Safety Seat Not
Acceptable The Magazine Calls For A Government Defect Investigation --
And Asks The Manufacturer To Recall The Seat


/ADVANCE/ YONKERS, N.Y., Sept. 10 -- Another child safety
seat has failed Consumer Reports' crash tests. As a result, the
Evenflo Travel Tandem infant safety seat has been judged Not
Acceptable when used with its base. Consumer Reports magazine is
asking the Government to begin a defect investigation, the first step
in an eventual recall of the product.

The Evenflo Travel Tandem ($50) failed catastrophically when tested
with its detachable base. In two of three test runs, the shell broke
around the buckle assembly and the buckle released, leaving the test
dummy unrestrained. The dummy hurtled through the air in one
test. However, when used without its base, the Evenflo passed Consumer
Reports' tests.

Two other infant safety seats of the same type, the Century Smart Fit
($65) and Cosco Turnabout ($60), performed well in these tests when
tried with and without their bases.

The three infant safety seats share a basic design: All have a
detachable base that can remain strapped in the car, so you can just
snap the infant carrier in and out. You can also use the seats without
the base, strapping in the carrier like any other rear-facing infant
seat.

Testers subjected all three seats to a simulated head-on crash at 30
mph into a fixed barrier. It's a slightly tougher version of the
Government's standard safety test. Consumer Reports used a 20-pound
test dummy to evaluate the Century and Evenflo -- since they're
labeled as suitable for that weight. The Cosco was tested with a
22-pound dummy, its labeled weight limit.

The magazine has been conducting ongoing tests since September 1995,
when it found and reported that three widely sold child safety seats
failed. Of the three, the Evenflo On My Way 206 infant seat has since
been replaced by the manufacturer with the On My Way 207, which passed
Consumer Reports' crash test; the Kolcraft Traveler 700 was
voluntarily recalled by Kolcraft, who now offers a safe replacement
buckle assembly to owners of that seat; and the Century 590 is still
on the market.

"It is important to note that two child safety seats -- Century Smart
Fit and Cosco Turnabout -- successfully passed our most recent tests,"
says Donald Mays, Testing Director, Recreation & Home Improvement for
Consumer Reports. "Parents should make sure that their children are
secured in a recommended child safety seat whenever they are in an
auto, and that the seat is installed and used properly, according to
the instructions given on the seat and in the car's owner's manual."

All states require that infants and small children ride in a safety
seat. Automobile accidents remain the leading cause of death for
children under the age of five in the U.S., with an estimated 700
children dying in crashes each year and another 60,000 to 70,000
injured.

Representatives of Evenflo were contacted and have visited Consumer
Reports to confer with testers. They are currently doing their own
testing on the Travel Tandem.

Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
tightened up the criteria it uses to certify the safety of child
safety seats. Among other things, the agency now mandates heavier
dummies in the crash-tests for some seats. Consumer Reports has
welcomed those changes but has urged NHTSA to make additional
improvements. Among changes petitioned for:

-- Stop depending on "over design." Manufacturers can claim on their
packaging, for example, that an infant seat tested with a 20-pound
dummy is safe for babies up to 22 pounds. That's because the
Government assumes manufacturers "over design" their
products. Consumer Reports questions that assumption, based on past
tests; the Evenflo Travel Tandem, previously certified with a 17-1/2
pound dummy and labeled safe for a 20-pound child, failed Consumer
Reports' tests when it was tested with a 20-pound dummy.

-- Test at exactly 30 mph to certify 30 mph. Currently, the Government
and manufacturers run crash tests as 27 to 30 mph, but the standard
says seats must pass at 30 mph. A crash at 27 mph is actually much
less severe than one at 30 mph. Consumer Reports tested seats that did
well for the Government at 28 mph but failed at 30 mph.

The report on child safety seats is available as an update to the
in-depth article on this product which appeared in the Sept. 1995
issue of the magazine. To order by fax through Consumer Reports by
Request, at a cost of $7.75 per report, call 800-766-9988, code 9424.

NOTE: Consumer Reports is published by Consumers Union, an
independent, nonprofit testing and information organization, serving
only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice
about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and
other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test
products, inform the public, and protect consumers.