Child restraints

IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) 2012. Safety belt and child restraint laws. Retrieved May 2012, from www.iihs.org/laws/safetybeltuse.aspx. 

Crash speeds must remain below a certain value in order to prevent serious injury. How a safe speed is defined is partly determined by the characteristics of a potential crash and the protection against injury that may be present when a crash occurs (e.g., seatbelts, child restraint seats, crash helmets, side underrun protection on trucks). Furthermore, the age of potential casualties should be considered when defining a safe crash speed. For example, at equal levels of crash energy, the consequences are more severe for elderly road users than for younger ones due to their greater vulnerability. 

Figure 10-5, Use of seat belts by car drivers and front seat passengers in Finland 1966-1995. Changes in front seat belt use rate as a function of change in belt laws and their enforcement (from WHO, 2004. Original source Seat-belts and child restraints increasing use and optimising performance. European Transport Safety Council, 1996 with permission of ETSC).

Figure 10-6, Child restraints for different ages. a. hi it rear-facing only (for children under 9 kg), b. Convertible for infants and toddlers (for children under 18 kg), c. Forward only (for children 9-18 kg), d. Booster seat (for bigger children less than 145 cm tall) (from NHTSA, 2002).

Though being restrained with standard belts is better than not being restrained at all, child restraints that are specifically designed for the dimensions of children are much more effective in injury reduction. 

Decina, L, E. and K. H. Lococo (2004). Misuse of Child Restraints. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Report No. DOT HS 809 671. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC January 2004. 

Enact and enforce occupant protection legislation including the use of seat-belts, child restraints, motorcycle helmets and bicycle helmets. 

Restraints do not invite use. For almost two decades, I have been urging transportation and safety professionals to stop using the terms "occupant restraints" and "child restraints" for vehicle safety belts and child safety seats. These terms imply discomfort and lack of personal control and fail to convey these devices true function. "Seat belt" is better than "occupant restraint," but this popular term is not really adequate because it does not describe the function or appearance of today s lap-and-shoulder belts. We need to get into the habit of saying "safety belt" and "child safety device."... 

Underlining that the reasons for road traffic deaths and injuries and their consequences are known and can be prevented and that these reasons include inappropriate and excessive speeding drinking and driving failure to appropriately use seat-belts, child restraints, helmets and other safety equipment ... 

Of course, social media are not all bad great support can be found for traffic safety. For example, significant discussion can be found on parenting forums about the correct and safe use of child restraints, how to teach young children good road sense, or how much driving supervision is needed for teenagers. Social media also... 

FIGURE 8.1 Seat belt wearing rates for drivers in Australia, the United States, and the UK. (Data derived from CARRS-Q, State of the Road Seat Belts, Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety, Queensland, Australia, 2012 NHTSA, Seat Belt Use in 2010—Overall Results, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, DC, 2010 ETSC, Seat Belts and Child Restraints, European Transport Safety Council, Brussels, Belgium, 2005.)... 

ETSC. Seat belts and child restraints. 2005, European Transport Safety Council, Brussels, Belgium. 

Sensitivity is exercised by realizing that through family intimacy, members learn a lot about each other s vulnerabilities. Out of consideration for this understanding, all parties resolve not to act in ways that knowingly will cause each other hurt. Just as they, when frustrated in conflict, do not strike out in anger to deliberately hurt their child, so they expect the only child to exercise the similar restraint with them. 

When bonding to parents is so tight and the importance of their approval is so great, the only child may feel reluctant to assert dissatisfaction with parents, push against their restraints, test their tolerances, challenge their authority, and pull away into the social company of friends, all of which are part of the entry into adolescence. 

Having given their child some guidelines in what constitutes moderation, parents still need to add one more restraint... 

One device that has reduced injuries from the second crash and saved lives is the seat belt. Seat belts became mandatory in 1968. Initially there was only a lap belt. By the 1980s a combined lap belt and shoulder harness became the standard. Eventually, lap belts expanded to rear seats. The combined lap belt and shoulder harness eventually became the standard for rear seats. The belt designs fit adults. Infant and child seats slowly evolved so that adult belts served as the primary restraints for them. Additional belts systems in child seats provided restraint to the seat for a child. 

Infant For children weighing up to 9-10 kg and up to 66-74 cm tall Infants outgrow this seat when they exceed the weight maximum or when their heads are <2.5 cm below the top. Faces rear-ward only. Comes with or without base portable, Inexpensive, and can be used as baby carrier. Never use a rear-facing seat in a front seat where there is an airbag. Harness straps should be flat and snug on the child. Seat needs to be secured tightly with the safety belt or LATCH restraint system. 

Forward facing/ comb- ination For children weighing 14-18 kg Height limits vary from 127 to 145 cm. Forward-facing seats can only face forward. Combination seats have a removable harness system to allow later use as a booster seat. Harness straps should be flat and snug on the child harness system should not be used past the seat s weight limit convertible seat needs to be secured tightly to the automobile with the safety belt or LATCH restraint system... 

Crash data also reflect the very low use rates of booster seats. Durbin et al. (2005), analyzed restraint use by children in over 11,000 crashes in 15 U.S. states. They found that while over 80 percent of the 9-15 years old children used lap and shoulder belts, and 90 percent of the children under 4 years old were restrained in child safety seats, only 24 percent of the 4-8 years old children were using booster seats. 

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