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About SittinSafeTM
SittinSafeTM is the
passion of Dr. Joseph W. Russell, a board certified pediatrician.
Ten years ago, after caring for several children injured as a
result of falls from shopping carts, Russell began his quest to
improve shopping cart safety.
 He has visited the
headquarters of numerous retailers as well as shopping cart
manufacturers. His improved design involves the modification of only
one part of the shopping cart, that of the rear gate and collapsible
child seat. The modification focuses on a lowered center of gravity
with a resultant increase in shopping cart stability. The modified
shopping cart functions exactly as those currently in use today.
Dr. Russell’s design
has received favorable reviews. His design was evaluated by Dr.
Gerald Udell of the Innovation Institute of Southwest Missouri State
University. Dr. Udell has developed The Preliminary Innovation
Evaluation System (PIES-X) and has evaluated over 30,000 inventions
and new product ideas. The PIES format is based on the concept that
flaws and major risk factors associated with new product development
are typically discoverable, if not obvious at the product concept
stage. Dr. Udell commented “Your project is recommended for further
development and commercialization.”
Cognizant that
significant obstacles remained, Russell sought an independent
engineering evaluation from a nationally recognized authority
regarding childhood shopping cart injuries. Dr. John S. Morse of
Ryan Engineering performed the evaluation. The following are
excerpts from Dr. Morse’s abstract:
“The main feature
of this reconfigured rear gate is that the child seat is placed
significantly lower within the shopping cart basket while
allowing carts of like design to nest with each other.”
“Testing and study
of the new rear gate and seat design demonstrate it will have a
significant impact in reducing the occurrence of rear tip-overs.”
“The new rear gate
and child seat design improves the overall safety of a shopping
cart used to carry a child.”
Russell has
worked tirelessly to develop a modification that would be cost
effective and require minimal change to the current shopping cart
design. In fact, this design modification was recently awarded a
utility patent from The United States Patent and Trademark Office.
SittinSafeTM will improve the safety for all children riding in
shopping carts.
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