UMTRI Project

LATCH Usability Survey

Sponsor: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Investigators: Kathleen DeSantis Klinich, Miriam A. Manary, Carol Flannagan
05/01/2010 - 01/31/2012

This project investigated the usability of Lower Anchorages and Tethers (LATCH) hardware in a selection of U.S. vehicles and child restraints using several different rating protocols. Data collected from ninety-eight 2011 or 2010 model-year vehicles were used to calculate the ISO vehicle rating and to determine the number of SAE draft recommendations on LATCH compatibility that could be met. Additional data, such as depth of the lower anchorage relative to the bight, were also measured. Child restraint/vehicle interaction was assessed using both ISO and proposed NHTSA fit procedures. To identify possible associations between ratings and quality of child restraint installations, volunteer testing was performed with 36 subjects on 12 different vehicles installing 3 different child restraints, with each subject performing 8 child restraint installations. Results are being used to develop improved assessments of LATCH usability.