On Jan. 1, a new state law went into effect requiring that keiki between the ages of 4 and 7 ride in a child safety seat. With more than 700 children involved in major crashes in the state annually, the law was imperative. But that's only part of keeping our children safe on the roads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — the federal agency in charge of testing child car seats — should strongly consider updating its crash-testing procedures to assure adequate and consistent safety standards.

Without an upgrade, the current crash-test parameters fail to inspire confidence in its assessment of child car seats.

Thanks to a Consumer Reports study, an unacceptable double standard appears to exist in federal testing. Infant seats are tested for effectiveness in frontal crashes only at 30 mph. But cars alone are tested for front crashes at 35 mph, and side crashes at 38 mph.

Those simple differences may not sound like much. But when Consumer Reports set its child seat crash tests at the higher standard, it was enough to flunk 10 of 12 seats.

The two that passed were the Baby Trend Flex-Loc and the Graco SnugRide with expanded foam. Testing revealed that other seats were less secure — one seat threw a test dummy 30 feet.

The current NHTSA tests are a disgrace. A better test is needed that sets a much higher bar for child safety.

The agency's main concern now is that the results may lead many to believe that the baby seats are useless, prompting parents to hold children in their laps or use regular seat belts for them. Even Consumer Reports says that having a baby car seat is still better than no car seat at all.

The new state law is good, but it's not as effective without better federal crash tests that could improve products, and, most importantly, save lives.