1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Case Study I - Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure Mark Kumagai, P.E. Director, Division of Mechanical Engineering Directorate for Engineering Sciences February 2011 These comments are those of the CPSC staff and have not been reviewed or approved by, and may not necessarily reflect the views of, the Commission.

2. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure

3. Carrier Use

4. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure Manufacturer’s Warning

5. 3 incident reports of handle failures with car seat carriers reported to CPSC Handle latch mechanism fails, dropping the baby onto the ground NHTSA reports over 300 incidents from 1994 -1997 Manufacturer claims no defect; alleges consumer misuse Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

6. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure In-Depth Investigation Child fell out of a carrier – head injury Father was taking his 11day old son in the carrier from his car to a restaurant Father held the carrier by the handle while leaning it up against his leg The latch suddenly released, and the baby fell out, falling about 2 feet onto the asphalt

7. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure Incident Data by Manufacture Date

8. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure

9. Old Plunger New Plunger Plunger Design Change

10. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure Carrier Handle Test

11. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure 176 reports of carrying handle latch unexpectedly released 89 injuries, including bruises, concussions, and skull fractures Injuries occurred to both restrained and unrestrained children

12. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure 9.6 million car seat/carriers recalled from 1998 – 2001 August 2000 – ASTM voluntary standard published – revised in 2008 ASTM 2050-08 Consumer Safety Specification for Infant Carriers

13. Car Seat Carrier Handle Failure Form review team Define users Define environments Define life cycle of the product Identify failure modes Determine foreseeable use, misuse, abuse of product Identify potential hazards Review data Review standards – understand rationale Keep asking “What if …?”