Readers defend, deride Consumer Reports

Scary article
I felt this article should scare parents. It should scare them to research from all aspects on which car seat is the best one. I have always assumed that if a seat is on the shelf for sale, it should be safe. I thought it should be my preference on what I like versus a safety issue. Boy was I wrong. After my son died, I learned that there were multiple reports sited with the car seat I had used. Do your homework and know everything you can possibly know about car seats before putting your precious children in the one you chose. The best thing we can do as parents to protect our children is to suggest stronger testing for car seats.
— deb mom

Shop around
Obviously, Consumer Reports is non-biased, but as amply demonstrated by the recent report on car seats, no one should use only one service or recommendation in forming an opinion as to which consumer product to purchase. Consumer Reports is only one of the many available tools which consumers should be using in conjunction with advice from other consumers and publications. I think if asked, even Consumer Reports would encourage consumers never to rely exclusively on one source in assessing which products to purchase.
— DCPoliticio

Travel system
Everyone that is saying that car seats are unsafe at speeds over 38 mph need to read the original Consumer Reports article. It dealt with a specific type of car seat, called a "detachable infant car seat," or as they are commonly called at the store, a travel system. This type of seat consists of a base that is buckled into the car or truck and left there, then there is a pumpkin seat that snaps onto that can be easily and quickly removed and snapped onto a stroller. The key here is "easily and quickly" removed. This type of setup is much less safe than the standard single-use infant car seat that is installed in the vehicle and left there. Its only purpose of the stand alone car seat is to protect the infant in an accident, not to conveniently carry the child to and from the vehicle. Leave convenience for drive through windows and not your child's safety.
— CallMeSingleDad

Irresponsible outsourcing
If a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to test consumer products for the public's benefit, then Consumer Reports did a very irresponsible thing by outsourcing such an important study. There is a thing in science called double-checking and triple-checking your work. Consumer Reports did a very unscientific thing, and the damage has already been done. Parents all over parents' Web sites were scared into buying new car seats based on the one report alone. Can they get their money back? Alarmist media outlets jumped all over the story and scared parents.
— NeverBoughtIntoIt

Cause for alarm
This was a gross error which caused much alarm. I have less trust in Consumer Reports.  I am also concerned that their reports are valid between speeds 60 and 70 mph, as most people travel at this speed on the freeway.  I would like to see the muddied waters cleared up.
— great grandma G

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