Last week, Volvo unveiled a line of child and infant safety seats specifically designed for use in Volvo cars - and pointed out that it couldn't sell the seats in the U.S., thanks to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rules that require car seats to be compatible with any make or model of car.

But NHTSA may be reconsidering that rule. On his Fast Lane blog, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood writes, "I recently ordered the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a comprehensive internal review of child car seat policy. That review team of 30 experts has finished its work." The group recommended that NHTSA begin testing child safety seats for side-impact protection, make front-impact standards more stringent, and "institute a new program to make it easier for parents to choose child safety seats for their specific vehicles. Manufacturers will recommend specific seats in various price ranges that work best for individual vehicles. We'd like to see this program begin with the 2011 model year," Lahood writes.

Autoblog notes, "The program isn't specifically geared toward Volvo's development."

Lahood notes, however, "Car manufacturers including Nissan and others in Europe already provide similar recommendations, so full implementation here shouldn't be complicated." A European-style recommendation system might usher in Volvo's new car seats. We'll bring more details as we find them.

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