Consumers Union names experts to review car seat tests

Consumers Union has named two independent auto safety experts to review the infant car seat tests that were conducted for Consumer Reports. As previously noted, Consumer Reports withdrew the report based on these tests after it was determined that the simulated side-impact crashes were more severe than intended. Consumers Union President Jim Guest has directed that the report’s Ratings and other recommendations regarding specific car-seat models remain suspended until the review and any retesting are completed.

The experts are Brian O'Neill, the former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI); and Dr. Kennerly H. Digges, the director of Vehicle Safety and Biomechanics at the Federal Highway Administration/ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) National Crash Analysis Center of George Washington University. "Dr. Digges and Mr. O'Neill are among the nation's most respected experts on car safety issues," said Guest. "We are confident that they will conduct a thorough review of this incident and determine what went wrong." 

Dr. Digges has been involved in safety research for over thirty years, and spent fourteen years as a senior executive with NHTSA. As Director of Vehicle Safety Research, he managed NHTSA's research to maintain and advance the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. In 1978,he originated and directed NHTSA’s first New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).  He also directed NHTSA’s research programs that led to improved  safety standards for frontal and side crash protection.

In his current position as Research Professor at the George Washington University, he teaches graduate courses and conducts research to assess the safety performance of vehicles. In addition, he currently serves as the Director of Research for the William Lehman Injury Research Center, Ryder Trauma Center, University of Miami School of Medicine. In this role, he conducts research in how occupants are injured in vehicle collisions to determine ways to reduce the severity of injuries and their consequences.

Brian O'Neill spent more than thirty-five years with the IIHS and the HLDI, over twenty of them as president. He was one of the founders of the HLDI in 1972, and in 1992 he led the effort to build a state-of-the-art vehicle crash testing and research facility near Charlottesville, Virginia. He was directly responsible for the research programs of both organizations, and over the years he has been personally involved in research covering virtually all aspects of highway loss reduction, including vehicle and highway design, emergency medical care, the effectiveness of traffic laws, and driver behavior.