Amazingly, research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that as many as 80 percent of all car seats are improperly installed and used. Eighty percent. It's a significant factor in why automobile accidents are the number-one killer of children under 14.

The great difficultly in installing car seats has always been the almost limitless variety in the way that both car seats and vehicle seats are made. Getting a good fit between car seat and vehicle seat is more difficult than manufacturers on either side of the equation would care to admit. Vehicle seatbelts might have automatic locking retractors (ALR), emergency locking retractors (ELR) or ones that switch between the two. Seat cushions can be flat or rounded, wide or narrow. Most newer cars' middle seats have shoulder belts, some older ones don't, but all models post 2008 will. Add to this the wide array of child safety seat dimensions and configurations, and you've got literally thousands of combinations to contend with.

To assist the consumer and simplify installation, the federal government set a standard: New car seats and most vehicles made after September 2002 must feature LATCH, or Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. LATCH attachments come in rigid (a metal piece that snaps over the anchor — found on Britax-brand car seats) and flexible (a hook that clips over the anchor). (See our article, "Sitting Tight: A Car Seat Overview.") If both your child seat and your car are equipped with LATCH, there's no need to use the seatbelts to install the seat. But LATCH created its own set of problems, and not all LATCH seats will fit into all cars. NHTSA responded again by rating car seats for ease of use.

As publicity grows about the necessity of properly installed car seats, the situation is slowly getting better. There are now hundreds of safety seat inspection stations where you can have your installation checked by a certified child passenger safety technician who has passed NHTSA's 32-hour course. Here in Conway, you can stop by the Conway Police Department and they will make certain it is installed properly.