Today at the annual DEMOfall 2005 conference, SafeGuard, a division of IMMI, announced the SafeGuard Child Seat, a revolutionary breakthrough in child seat safety. Through cutting-edge technology, superior testing and sophisticated design features, SafeGuard offers the most advanced protection for your child. SafeGuard is easy-to-use and designed to address the top five misuses of child car seats as cited by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); while providing parents and children an all around safer seat at a greater value.

Revolutionary SafeGuard features include an aircraft aluminum frame, unlike most plastic framed car seats; a SmartCore(TM) headrest, for better impact protection; a patented Posi-LATCH(TM) attachment, for quick and easy installment; a unique five-point harness system which retracts like a standard seatbelt; and a one-touch adjustable headrest, for a proper fit to the child.

Addressing the Critical Misuse of Car Seats Through Technology and Ease-of-Use

According to NHTSA, over 85% of car seats are installed incorrectly(1). With car crashes still the leading cause of death for children in the United States, SafeGuard was designed to address the top five misuses of child seats, as cited by NHTSA, and provide parents a child seat that is intuitive and easy-to-install. Common misuses include improper installation into the vehicle, loose harness straps and an incorrect overall car seat fit to the child; for example the straps being adjusted to high or to low for the height of the child.

The SafeGuard Child Seat features the patented Posi-LATCH(TM) system, making it quick and easy for parents to correctly install the seat. Once connected and tightened into the car's LATCH restraints, the Posi-LATCH(TM) system automatically retracts and tightens with the movement of the car and weight of the child for a secure fit to the vehicle.

Improperly fastening child restraints to the appropriate tightness is another common car seat misuse. SafeGuard's unique five-point harness system allows parents to properly secure their child with the touch of a button. Similar to the Posi-LATCH(TM) system, the retractable harness retracts like a traditional seatbelt, creating a better fit for each individual child.

The SafeGuard Child Seat also features a one-touch height-adjustable headrest, enabling parents to adjust the size of the seat without the hassle of removing the car seat cover to adjust the straps. This easy adjustment feature allows parents to quickly and easily secure a proper, safe fit for their child, while the child is sitting in the seat.

A Revolution in Safety

Utilizing state of the art technology and design, the SafeGuard Child Seat was built through a process never before used in the car seat industry. The seat was designed based on anthropometric data -- dimensions, proportions, and ratios of the human body -- which were used to develop three-dimensional replicas of children 22-65 pounds. These replicas allowed IMMI to test the fit and function of components before an actual prototype was ever produced.

This inside-out prototyping model enabled IMMI to create a car seat that offers the most advanced protection on the market -- both above and beneath the car seat cover.

One of the current problems with car seats on the market today is that they are designed with plastic at their core. Over time, the integrity of the plastic can be damaged by use and temperature related elements. SafeGuard is the first seat to be created with an aircraft aluminum frame and SmartCore(TM) foam, which is stronger, more durable and longer lasting than the plastic shells and standard foam used by other seat manufacturers.

SmartCore(TM) foam, a pliable foam solution, is also used in the headrest of the SafeGuard Child Seat. This innovation in car seat headrests cushions and protects a child's head in a crash by creating a more effective barrier between crash forces and the child.

Testing Beyond the Standards

To ensure that the SafeGuard child seat is the most advanced child seat ever built, SafeGuard engineers subjected it to the most rigorous and extensive testing conducted in the industry. Testing was carried out at the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE), a state-of-the-art crash-test facility capable of imitating extreme environmental conditions and crash scenarios. Currently, government standards only require a total of 16 test configurations for child seats. SafeGuard and CAPE engineers went above and beyond government standards to test the SafeGuard Child Seat to more than 25 test configurations.

In a frontal collision, a 40 pound child in a vehicle traveling at 60 mph can generate up to 2,400 pounds of force(2). More than 100 dynamic frontal impact tests conducted at CAPE allowed SafeGuard engineers to design a child seat that transfers these crash forces away from the child, reducing the probability of injuries.

The SafeGuard Child Seat was also tested against side and rear impact crashes and tested to withstand extreme temperatures and conditions.

Pricing and Availability

The front-facing SafeGuard Child Seat is made for children 22-65 pounds, eliminating the need to purchase new car seats as a child gets older.

The SafeGuard seat is available today for $429. The car seat can be purchased online at www.safeguardseat.com, by calling 1-800-974-7798, or through specialty retailers.

SafeGuard features a 7-year limited warranty, the best of any car seat currently on the market and a 30-day money back guarantee.

For more information about SafeGuard please visit www.safeguardseat.com.