Which digital language should your car speak?

BY JERRY HIRSCH

Los Angeles Times

Today’s cars have turned into traveling towers of Babel. Car infotainment systems freeze. Phones don’t always sync. Bluetooth sound quality is poor. And simple tasks take too many touches and clicks.

At the core of the problem: The cars and devices speak different languages, with no common standard for operating systems or software.

“We have to make this work better,” said Philip Abram, chief infotainment officer for General Motors Co. “We have to make this easier for our customers.”

Problems with car electronics controls have overtaken mechanical issues, rattles and other defects to become the top complaint in the automotive reliability studies from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates. Fixing this technological cacophony is now among the top challenges facing automakers, approaching efforts to improve fuel economy.

“The car manufacturers are really struggling with this,” said Peter Skillman, vice president of design for Nokia’s Here mapping unit. “The smartphone or tablet experience today is much better than the car infotainment system.”

At the heart of the issue is the desire by these big consumer companies to protect their own turf.

Apple Inc., for example, is pitching a system to let drivers access a phone or tablet through a dashboard touch screen — but it would not work with Android phones. GM, for its part, doesn’t want the screens in its cars looking like an Apple device rather than a GM-branded system.

Car companies are worried about giving away the store, said Ajay Juneja, chief technology officer and founder of Speak With Me Inc., an application developer.

“They want to own the one to two hours a day of space for advertising, or however it will be monetized in the future; they don’t want Google or Apple to have that,” Juneja said.

Another obstacle: The vehicle development cycle — typically years — is way out of sync with the much shorter development cycles for phones, tablets and other devices.

“Any time we release a car, within weeks there is a new phone out,” said John Krafcik, chief executive of Hyundai Motor America.

Carmakers need to think of their vehicles more like phones, including making sure they have wireless connectivity, said Michelle Avary, director of technology strategy for auto electronics supplier Harman International Industries. She said Tesla Motors Inc. is breaking ground in this arena, updating its software over the air, and that’s “starting to change people’s expectations.”

“Software bugs on phones get fixed constantly, but when they are in a car, that’s now considered a warranty issue, and you get the dealers involved,” Avary said.

Also needed is an industry standard for automakers and operating system companies, such as Apple or Google Inc., to use as the underlying architecture for both phones and cars, said James Buczkowski, director of global electrical and electronics systems engineering at Ford Motor Co. Companies could then tailor in-car interfaces to match their own brand identities and philosophies, he said.

It would cut costs for the companies and make life easier for software developers and consumers, he said. App developers are now stuck developing their programs for each phone operating system, and then tweaking them again for each of the car brands.

“They are lean and efficient and can’t afford the burden of working with lots of different standards,” Buczkowski said.

Consumers would also benefit by being able to use just one version of an app, even if they drive cars from different automakers, he said.

The quickest step would be to standardize the “middleware” in these system, said Joel Hoffmann, the strategist at Intel Corp.’s automotive solutions division and treasurer of Genivi Alliance, an industry group advocating for a standard Linux software suite for car electronics.

Middleware is the code that provides functions not visible to users — for example, how to communicate to Bluetooth or how the DVD plays a video for children in the back seat — but would still allow for some customization of driver interfaces by automakers, Hoffmann said.

“I don’t think we realized how difficult it is for the automakers to agree,” Hoffmann said.

Some argue that standardization is no cure-all for automotive technology.

GM’s research, for instance, has found that the top technology complaint is about Bluetooth pairing — which operates on an industry standard.

“But it is really hard to do, because each phone implements it differently,” GM’s Abram said. “And that is not just a couple of operating systems; that is 500 different phones.”

But even this issue is partly the auto industry’s fault, said Krafcik, the Hyundai executive.

Automakers have skimped on the Bluetooth microphones they install in vehicles, and that’s hurt the quality of phone calls and diminished the ability of the embedded speech-recognition programs to understand commands.

Hyundai is now installing better-quality microphones in its cars, something Krafcik called a simple fix for automakers.

Abram contends that consumers don’t care about standardization - they care only that their phone works with their car.

“The fact that we use an operating system that is different than Ford is pretty irrelevant to someone sitting in an Impala,” he said. “There isn’t just one phone or one phone operating system for everybody - why should there be just one system for cars? That’s not how business works. People differentiate. People select what works for them. There’s not one solution for everybody.”

Tips on saving gas for summer driving season

By: Mark Phelan, MCT News Services

As the summer driving season begins in earnest, keeping an eye on your fuel economy can put dollars in your pocket.

The folks behind the invaluable website Fueleconomy.gov — the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency — offer some new tips.

First is a new feature that lets you get a detailed cost estimate of your trips and compare the cost of different routes and vehicles. Called My Trip Calculator (fueleconomy.gov/trip), it’s full of surprises.

For instance, fuel for a family trip from Birmingham to Cedar Point would cost $14.93 in a 2014 Honda Accord, $20.77 in a 2014 Chrysler Town & Country minivan and $12.34 in a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact.

There’s one surprising omission in the site’s calculations: It expects you to estimate what percentage of your trip is highway versus city driving, rather than using the mapping database for specific figures. (Based on the route directions, I told it to assume 85% highway for the Cedar Point trip.) Despite that oversight, the site allows you to compare the cost of different vehicles and routes.

You can also program multiple stops. If you continued from Cedar Point for a weekend at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, for instance, the cost rises to $47.93 in the Accord, $66.70 in the minivan and $39.66 in the Cruze diesel.

Fueleconomy.gov also offers tips to maximize the miles per gallon of hybrids, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

Among the suggestions:

■ Keep EV and plug-in batteries fully charged. Contrary to popular opinion, frequent charges to top off lithium-ion batteries do not reduce a battery’s storage capacity or shorten its life. Full charges also maximize the distance plug-ins cover before their gasoline engines take over.

■ Avoid hard braking. Steady, gentle braking maximizes the amount of regenerative energy that’s pumped back into the batteries.

■ Use the economy mode. It seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t. The econ mode affects other systems, particularly climate control and acceleration, but you won’t know if the change bothers you unless you try it.

So that's what the little picture of a tire is for

Few things a driver does have a bigger effect on fuel economy than proper tire inflation. The tire pressure monitors that have been mandatory on all new vehicles since model year 2008 should make that easy, but a whopping 42% of drivers have no idea what the tire pressure warning means, according to Schrader International, a supplier of sensors.

U.S. government statistics say underinflated tires lead to 660 deaths and 33,000 injuries annually. Correct tire pressure improves fuel economy 3.3%, but American drivers waste 3.5 million gallons of gasoline a day because of under-inflated tires.

Service Engine Soon

By Jim Gorzelany, CTW Features

Your car is trying to tell you something when one of the warning lights on the dashboard illuminates

If you find yourself perplexed by the plethora of warning lights and displays on your car’s instrument panel, you’re not alone.

A recent survey determined that a surprising number of U.S. motorists remain virtually clueless in this regard. Conducted among 2,000 drivers by the website Insurance.com in Foster City, Calif, nearly half couldn’t identify the tire-pressure or brake system malfunction lights, while 17 percent didn’t even know what it means when the low-fuel-level light comes on.

While all the warning lights illuminate for a second when the car starts up, motorists should respond accordingly to those that stay on or light up while the vehicle is running to avoid a breakdown and the need for costly mechanical repairs. Here’s a quick look at warning lights that can indicate mechanical problems and what do when they come on:

• Antilock braking system. The “ABS” light indicates a problem with the braking system’s antilock function. Have a technician run a check as soon as possible, but be aware that in the meantime normal braking will not likely be affected.

• Brake system. Appearing as either a circular symbol with an exclamation point or “BRAKE,” this illuminates when either the emergency brake is engaged or there’s a loss of fluid pressure in the braking system. If the emergency brake is released, head directly to a repair center to have the braking system checked out; if it’s difficult to stop the vehicle, pull over and call for assistance.

• “Check engine:” When you see this message or a symbol that looks like a car engine, it usually indicates a problem with the vehicle’s emissions system. If the light stays on, take the car to a technician to have the problem evaluated. If it flashes, the car’s catalytic converter is overheating; drive straight to a repair shop to avoid an engine fire and/or expensive repairs.

• Electrical system: Appearing as either a car battery or “ALT” or “GEN,” this warns that the car’s alternator is no longer sending electrical power to the charging system. Since the battery will soon become depleted and cause the car to stop running, switch off the climate control and radio to preserve power and immediately drive for a repair facility. Otherwise, pull over and call for assistance.

• Engine temperature: The car’s engine is overheating when either a thermometer symbol or the word “TEMP” lights up. Switch off the air conditioner and turn on the car’s heater to its highest fan and temperature settings. If the car’s cooling system is simply overloaded in hot weather, this can help relieve the pressure and keep the car going for a time. If the light does not go off, pull over and switch off the engine.

Check the car’s coolant level from the reservoir (not the radiator cap) and replenish as necessary with a 50/50 percent mixture of antifreeze and distilled water. If the light stays on after the car idles for a few minutes call for assistance. If the light goes out and the car is drivable, take it to a technician to have the cooling system examined.

• Oil pressure: When an oil can or the word “OIL” lights up it means the engine’s oil pressure is low. If this happens, pull off the road, turn off the engine and call for assistance to avoid engine damage.

• Tire pressure: A cross-section of a tire with an exclamation point means one or more tires are underinflated. Pull over and inspect the tires to see if one is flat or is significantly deflated. If that’s the case, change the tire according to the manufacturer’s instructions or call for assistance. Otherwise, head for a gas station to refill the tire that’s low on air; better yet, have a service facility inspect the tires for leaks or damage.

Trimming the costs of automobile ownership

By: Metro Creative Connection

According to the Automobile Association of America, the cost of owning a vehicle is on the rise. In its 2013 "Your Driving Costs" study, the cost of owning a vehicle is somewhere between $7,000 and $11,000 annually depending on the type of vehicle. That's a substantial amount of money and may leave many motorists looking for ways to reduce the cost of automobile ownership.

Driving is a way of life for many people left with little choice but to keep a vehicle. Thanks to mass transportation, city dwellers might be able to get by without owning a vehicle, but those who live in rural communities or even the suburbs often find that public transportation runs too infrequently or inefficiently to meet their needs. There are ways for those who need their own automobiles to reduce the financial burden of vehicle ownership.

* Downsize your vehicle. In its study, AAA found that the average cost of owning a vehicle varied considerably depending on the size of that vehicle. That should come as no surprise, as larger vehicles tend to consume more fuel and, as a result, cost more money. But drivers might be surprised to learn just how much less it costs to own a small sedan than it does a four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicle. Small sedans cost the least amount of money to own at $6,967 annually, while four-wheel-drive SUVs cost nearly twice that amount, setting their owners back $11,599 per year. But the most surprising thing from the AAA study might be its findings as to the costs of owing a large sedan. Such vehicles are nearly as expensive as larger SUVs, costing drivers more than $11,000 per year. So drivers who downsize their vehicles to a small sedan will likely save themselves a substantial amount of money over the life of the vehicle.

* Drive safe and cash in on lower insurance premiums. Though numerous factors, including individuals' driving histories, influence the cost of auto insurance, drivers with clean track records might be able to buck the industry trend and pay less for their auto insurance policy next year than they did this year. In its study, AAA found that the cost of insurance rose by nearly 3 percent in 2012 from the year before. But drivers who can avoid accidents and citations are likely to see their rates decrease from year to year.

* Buy a used car. Buying a used car may not give buyers the initial excitement of driving off a car lot behind the wheel of a brand new vehicle, but it might prove quite exciting for your bank account. Revisiting a study they conducted in 2001, in 2013 experts at automotive Web site Edmunds.com examined three different financing methods and the cost of each over a six-year period, which the global market intelligence firm Polk estimates is the average car ownership period. The study examined the costs, including interest rates and fees, of leasing or buying a 2013 Honda Accord EX and buying a used 2010 Accord EX. The total cost of buying used after six years was $20,960, while the cost of leasing was $24,768 and the cost of buying new was $28,330. Buying used even saves buyers money when factoring in equity. Of course, leasing saves drivers the cost of maintenance and repairs, which can be considerable when buying used vehicles. However, an older used car won't cost as much to insure as a vehicle that is being leased or financed.

* Drive less. Of course, the easiest way for automobile owners to trim the costs of owning their vehicles is to drive less. Though vehicle manufacturers have improved fuel economy in recent years, driving less will save money on fuel, the cost of which hinges on a host of factors, including petroleum demand and economic conditions. Such factors may cause a dip in fuel prices one day, but a sharp increase in price the next day. Regardless of those fluctuations in fuel prices, drivers who can cut back on their driving are certain to save money.

The cost of vehicle ownership is on the rise. But motorists who rely on their vehicles can still find ways to save money.

Economic impact of traffic accidents? About $1 trillion a year

By Charles Fleming, MCT News Services

Motor vehicle crashes in the United States every year have an economic toll of almost $1 trillion.

That includes $277 billion in actual cost, and an estimated $594 billion in "harm from the loss of life and the pain and decreased quality of life due to injuries," a new U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report said.

Studying crashes in the U.S. in 2010, NHTSA counted up 32,999 fatalities, 3.9 million non-fatal injuries and 24 million damaged vehicles in "The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes 2010."

The sweeping report takes in a lot of ground, particularly in calculating the "quality of life" losses. Among the factors considered in the direct losses of $277 billion, the report said, were $93 billion in lost productivity, $76 billion in property damage, $35 billion in medical expenses, and $28 billion in the costs of traffic-related congestion--like traffic jams and increased air pollution.

The report concluded that drunk driving, speeding and "distraction" were key contributors.

Drunk driving alone, the report said, accounted for 18 percent of the total economic loss from motor vehicle crashes, costing the economy as much as $199 billion in direct and quality-of-life losses.

Speeding accounted for 21 percent of the total economic loss, responsible for as much as $210 billion in costs.

Distraction contributed another 17 percent.

The study concluded that the use of seat belts prevented 12,500 fatalities and 308,000 serious injuries, the study said, as well as $69 billion in medical care, lost productivity and other costs related to auto crash injuries. But the failure to wear seat belts caused $72 billion in losses.

The study also concluded, though, that driving cars has never been safer. In 2011, 32,367 people died in U.S. automobile accidents, the lowest rate since 1949. Fatality rates per vehicle miles traveled fell in 2011 to 1.1 fatality per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.11 in 2010. In 1949, when there were fewer people driving cars that were much less safe to drive, the fatality rate was seven times higher.

Electric cars may hold solution for power storage

By Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times

The thick blue cables and white boxes alongside an industrial garage here look like those in any electric-car charging station. But they work in a way that could upend the relationship Americans have with energy.

The retrofitted Mini Coopers and other vehicles plugged into sockets where a Chrysler plant once stood do more than suck energy out of the multi-state electricity grid. They also send power back into it.

With every zap of juice into or out of the region's fragile power network, the car owner gets paid.

The pilot project here at the University of Delaware has had enough success to set off a frenzy of activity in the auto and electricity industries, particularly in California, where Gov. Jerry Brown's transportation plan this year promoted "vehicle-to-grid" technology.

Entrepreneurs and government agencies see the technology as a possible solution to a vexing dilemma: how to affordably store renewable energy so it can be available when it is needed, not only when the wind blows or the sun shines.

"This is a fascinating option," said Robert Weisenmiller, chair of the California Energy Commission. "The technology works. You can do this. The question is … what do we need to do to make it happen?"

California has the nation's most aggressive goals for renewable power and also wants to put 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road over the next decade. State officials say vehicle-to-grid technology could point toward a way to accomplish both goals faster, for less money.

The idea is that utilities would pay vehicle owners to store electricity in the batteries of electric vehicles when the power grid has a surplus and drain electricity back out of them when demand rises.

The plan takes advantage of a key fact about cars: They spend most of their time parked. The technology makes idle vehicles a source of storage for utilities and cash for car owners.

The "Cash Back Car" is how the concept is described by Jon Wellinghoff, the recently retired chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "It provides another incentive for people to buy electric cars," he said.

The technology could solve a potentially serious problem. The power grid, a massive tangle of power plants, transformers and thousands of miles of wire, needs to maintain a steady and balanced flow of power. Sudden surges threaten crashes that can cause blackouts. That makes the stop-and-go nature of energy from the wind and sun a constant source of worry.

A cost-effective method of storing renewable energy and controlling its flow into the system has long eluded the energy industry, which has taken to calling storage the "Holy Grail."

Rear cameras top parking sensors in stopping crashes, study finds

By Jerry Hirsch Los Angeles Times (MCT)

Rear cameras work better than parking sensors at preventing drivers from running over small children or hitting objects while backing up, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The insurance trade organization tested the systems recently with a group of volunteer drivers in an empty parking lot at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The test results indicated that cameras by themselves worked better than sensors and cameras combined at preventing drivers from backing into pedestrians and obstacles.

“Right now cameras appear to be the most promising technology for addressing this particularly tragic type of crash, which frequently claims the lives of young children in the driveways of their own homes,” said David Zuby, the institute’s executive vice president and chief research officer.

The institute said an estimated 292 people are killed and 18,000 injured each year by drivers who back into them. The collisions typically occur in driveways or parking lots. Children and the elderly are the most frequent victims of such crashes.

The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the risk. That’s because drivers can’t easily see people and objects low to the ground behind the rear bumper. Sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks typically have the biggest blind zones and are involved in more back-over collisions than cars, the institute said.

The organization, which researches automotive safety for the insurance industry, studied the driving habits of 111 volunteers using a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox LTZ. It picked the Equinox because it is a popular midsize SUV that in another study was found to have an average-sized blind zone. The drivers were told they were testing the SUV’s entertainment and information systems.

At first they were asked to complete parking maneuvers and other tasks such as tuning the radio and reading from a navigation display. They were then asked to back out of a parking spot and drive back to where they parked their personal car. As they backed out, a foam cutout of a child-size crash-test dummy was placed in the SUV’s path.

In some cases, the institute put a stationary dummy behind the vehicle, while in other instances it used a radio-controlled platform to slowly slide the dummy into the SUV’s path from the driver’s side.

Most drivers avoided the moving dummy. The most dangerous situation was when the dummy was stationary.

The proportion of drivers who collided with the stationary object was four times as large as the proportion that collided with the moving object. Drivers with the rearview camera alone had the fewest collisions with the stationary object; 56 percent of them hit it. In contrast, all the drivers who had no technology hit the stationary object, while parking sensors alone helped just 1 out of 16 drivers avoid a crash.

Automakers are looking at this and other research as they plan new models. Honda, for example, said it will have rearview cameras standard on all Honda and Acura models as of the 2015 model year.

“Rearview cameras are an integral part of Honda’s approach to enhance driver visibility,” said Art St. Cyr, the car company’s vice president of product planning and logistics.

Toyota Clocks in at No. 9 on Fortune’s Global 500

Toyota is once again one of the top 10 companies in the world.

Fortune Magazine Tuesday released its annual Global 500 list, ranking the world’s top companies by worldwide revenues for fiscal year 2014.

Toyota Motor Corp., ranks No. 9, down one spot from last year, trading places with Volkswagen.

“The Japanese car company saw profits increase by 57 percent in its fiscal year 2014,” Fortune wrote. “Sales were also up, with 10.1 million units sold compared with 9.7 million in fiscal year 2013.”

Toyota was far ahead of the rest of the auto industry. Other automakers in the top 100 include:

• Daimler - 20
• General Motors - 21
• Ford - 26
• Honda - 45
• Nissan - 61
• BMW - 68
• Hyundai - 100

For more on the Global 500 list, click here: http://bit.ly/1lNoowi

Cars That Can Avoid Crashes

By Jim Gorzelany CTW Features

A growing number of cars and crossovers offer sophisticated accident avoidance technology to help prevent collisions; a new rating system grades their performance

New cars have long been rated according to how well they protect their occupants in controlled crash tests. The latest ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in Arlington, Va., take a major step forward by predicting how well a given model’s advanced safety technology can help a driver avoid getting into a collision altogether.

“Front crash prevention systems can add a thousand dollars or more to the cost of a new car,” says David Zuby, IIHS chief research officer. “Our new ratings let consumers know which systems offer the most promise for the extra expense.”

Already, every car sold in the U.S. is required to come with electronic stability control to help prevent a car from fishtailing out of control in sudden or emergency handling maneuvers by automatically initiating brake and throttle intervention if sensors detect wheel slippage. According to the IIHS, stability control lowers the risk of a deadly crash by 33 percent and cuts the risk of a single-vehicle rollover by 73 percent.

But an expanding array of models are now offering sophisticated collision avoidance systems that will alert the driver if sensors determine the car is closing in on the vehicle or other obstruction in its path too quickly (like when the driver isn’t paying close enough attention). While some such systems will additionally tighten the seatbelts and pre-prime the brakes to full stopping power in anticipation of a possible crash, the most effective systems will go ahead and apply the brakes if the driver isn’t reacting quickly enough to help prevent (or at least minimize the effects of) a collision.

While the IIHS new rating system is limited to testing forward collision systems that alert or protect against crashing into other vehicles or large obstructions, some of the latest systems can help prevent other types of unfortunate encounters as well. For example, Infiniti offers a system that will automatically engage the brakes to avoid hitting cars or pedestrians while backing up. What’s more, Volvo offers two separate variations on accident avoidance technology – called City Safety and Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection With Full Autobrake – that will automatically stop the car to avoid a collision with another vehicle, a pedestrian or bicyclist at slower speeds.

The IIHS recently evaluated the performance of forward collision avoidance systems offered in 74 midsize sedans and SUVs from the 2013 and 2014 model years and rated them as being either “basic,” “advanced,” or “superior,” according to whether or not they provide an autonomous braking function and, if so equipped, how effective it is in tests conducted at 12 and 25 mph. We’re listing the top performers in the accompanying box.

Five vehicles earned the top “superior” rating, which means they’re able to avoid a crash or substantially reduce a vehicle’s speed in both the 12 and 25 mph tests. Eight were given an “advanced” rating, which means they include an auto-braking function and are able to avoid a crash or reduce speeds by at least 5 mph in either of the two tests. Unlike forward and side-impact crash tests, which are conducted with dummies behind the wheel, here an actual human pilots the vehicle toward a stationary target that’s intended to simulate the back end of another car – fortunately, it’s inflatable and can absorb any resulting crash energy.

To earn a “basic” grade, which was given to 25 other vehicles, a model simply has to offer a forward collision warning system that meets performance criteria established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Another 36 models failed to make the cut altogether because they either don’t offer a forward collision prevention system, or their system meets neither the NHTSA or IIHS standards.

For further details and full test results, log onto www.iihs.org.

Protecting a Precious Cargo

By Jim Gorzelany, CTW Features

Far too many parents are becoming neglectful when it comes to properly securing infants and children before hitting the road

It’s the law: All 50 states and the District of Columbia require parents to properly secure infants and children meeting specific criteria in age-appropriate car safety seats, with 48 states and D.C. further mandating the use of booster seats for older kids.

Unfortunately, a recent study determined that far too many parents - while well intentioned - are missing the mark when it comes to restraining their kids.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in Chicago, Ill., recommends infants and toddlers ride in a rear-facing car seat until age two (or until they reach the seat’s weight and height limits), moving to a front-facing seat with a harness until at least age four, and then into a seatbelt-positioning booster seat until they’ve reached four feet, nine inches tall and are at least eight years old. The AAP further recommends children who’ve out grown their booster seats continue to ride the back seat until they’re at least 13 years old.

While most parents dutifully follow the rules regarding child safety, a recent study conducted by the AAA Chicago Auto Club in Aurora, Ill., found that three out of four car child seats are being improperly used or installed. Such infractions range from not fastening a seat tightly enough to moving children out of infant or child seats before it’s otherwise prudent.

“We’ve has made great strides in keeping its children safe on the roadways,” says Brad Roeber, regional president of AAA Chicago. “But, there are still some parents who need assistance to ensure their children are safely buckled up.”

Here are the 12 most common mistakes parents make with regard to child car seats, according to AAA Chicago’s report:

1. Moving a child out of a booster seat too soon. Seatbelts are designed to restrain adults, not children. Depending on the child’s physical development, a seat belt won’t fit properly until he or she is between the ages of eight and 12.

2. Not installing the seat tightly enough. A kid’s seat shouldn’t slide front-to-back or side-to-side, and there shouldn’t be more than an inch of “wiggle room” in the seat belt.

3. Harness straps are too loose. Child seat straps should be straight and flat and adjusted tightly enough to fully restrain a child in a crash.

4. The harness retainer clip is set too low. This should be set at armpit level for proper restraint.

5. Moving a baby into a forward-facing seat prematurely.

6. Allowing a child under 13 to ride in the front seat.

7. Neglecting the top tether. This secures a forward facing seat to the car and keeps the top of the seat from moving forward in a crash when a child’s head and neck could otherwise snap forward with excessive force.

8. Adding padding, toys or mirrors to a car seat. Such products may interfere with the seat’s performance or could come loose and become hazardous projectiles in a collision.

9. Installing a car seat via a vehicle’s built-in “LATCH” (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, required in all models since 2002) in the center position, when it is otherwise not approved by the automaker - check the owner’s manual for details.

10. Carrying unsecured items - including pets - in the vehicle. Again, these can become injury-inflicting projectiles under sudden braking.

11. Installing a car seat using both a car’s LATCH connection and a seatbelt. The AAA says parents should use one method but not both, as they often work against each other in a crash.

12. Allowing children to wear bulky coats while secured in a car seat. This can create undue slack in the harness system - it’s better to place blankets over kids in the car for warmth.