It's National Car Seat Safety Week, and we're thinking a lot about car seats. In part, it's because we've been testing one of the better car seats we've ever used, the Britax Advocate.

Longtime readers know that we value ease of use as much as strong crash performance, because the best-designed car seat is only as effective if it is simple to install without error or undue exertion. We have seen many car seats that were installed too loosely to provide their full protection, in part because it is hard for many parents to believe just how much pressure and force they have to use to properly install many car seats. We learned early on that an adult often has to kneel in a car seat to tighten it enough that the car seat performs as tested in a crash.

Britax has been working on some interesting innovations over the last couple of years, including being at the forefront of side-impact technology (almost unheard of when they were first expanding their car seats' side wings and, later, displaying their Advocate in prototype last fall. It's now easy to find car seats claiming enhanced side-impact protection, although they are at present designing their own standards or selecting from international ones, as the U.S. has no side impact standard yet. (NHTSA is working on it.)

Here's how the Britax Advocate handles side impacts - with a pair of air-cushioned plastic panels:



But we've frankly been even more impressed with the emphasis Britax has placed on ease of installation. Over the course of several car seats, we've watched them evolve a method of raising and lowering the harness without unthreading the straps (with a plate that shifts up and down with a giant screw:



We'll have more to say about this car seat when we can shoot a couple more videos - including detailed specs and how this car seat fits into a chain of safer car seats based on its height and weight limits. But whatever car seat you're currently using, we'd like to encourage you to check its installation with a certified car seat installation technician. It's a free service, and your tech may have some insight into how your seat and car interact for best fit, which is something no manufacturer's installation instructions can fully address.

The Britax Advocate sells for about $370 on Amazon.com.