CHILD CAR SEATS. Republic of Serbia ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY AGENCY

Transcription

1 Republic of Serbia MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE Republic of Serbia ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY AGENCY CHILD CAR SEATS

2 Ministry of Construction, WHAT HAPPENS DURING A CRASH? When it comes to a crash all unbelted passengers and objects continue to move until they hit the inside of the vehicle, or are thrown out of the vehicle. Collision of passengers with the inside of the car is the main reason of injuries in road accidents, therefore it is important that passengers in the vehicle are properly belted. Forces appearing during the crash are extremely high, and human body has a certain limit when bearing forces effects. Body of a child is more sensitive than body of an adult person and it can bear significantly less force. Therefore using a passive protection with children often presents a line between life and death. Properly belted children in restraint systems installed correctly are exposed to significantly smaller forces during crashes and have significantly greater chances for surviving. CHILD IN ARMS - YES OR N0? Since a certain number of parents have doubts, it should be mentioned as well that it is particularly unsafe to hold a child in arms. Namely, regardless how small a child s mass is, during a crash weight of a child increases up to 150 times, sometimes even up to 300 times. That means that even the strongest arms of an adult person are not able to keep the child from continuing to move towards the point of crash. 2

3 CHILD CAR SEATS CAN A PARENT, i.e. OTHER UNBELTED PASSENGER JEOPARDIZE A CHILD? In crash weight of other passengers, not only children, increases as well, hence parent or any other unbelted passenger can jeopardize a child when in the moment of road accident he or she continues to move towards the child. WHAT TO DO WHEN TRAVELLING SHORT DISTANCE? Putting a child in restraint system is equally important when travelling both long and short distance. In order for a child to be safe at any moment it is necessary always to be in restraint system during transportation (even when driven from/to school, kindergarten, shop, etc.). In that way a child forms right habits and, not only that later will not refuse, but will demand to ride in restraint system. AND WHEN TRAVELLING EXTREMELY LONG DISTANCES? On long-distance travels which are especially tiring for children, it is also essential for children to be driven properly belted in restraint systems. While driving on motorways where speeds of vehicles are high, in case of road accident consequences are greater as well. Therefore it is very important for children to be properly belted at all times during the travel in order to provide their safe transport in vehicle. CHOICE OF CAR SEATS BASED ON AGE OR PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHILD? Child restraint systems are divided in groups, depending on which mass and height of child they are made for. Classification of a child restraint systems depending on mass and height of a child can somewhat be related to the age of a child. However, it should be borne in mind that children of the same age can be significantly different in mass and height. Age of a child should be used as a general guideline when choosing a car seat, but is vitally important to determine if the chosen group of child car seats suits the physical characteristics of a child- mass and height. 3

4 Ministry of Construction, A child is transported safely in a car seat if the following conditions are fulfilled: Child restraint system meets the United Nations Regulation with a mark UN ECE R44, Child restraint system suits the mass and the height of a child, Child restraint system is properly set up, according to manufacturer s instructions, Child is properly belted in child restraint system. The following text describes how to check if a child restraint system meets the conditions of the United Nations Regulation with mark UN ECE R44. After that it is described how to choose a suitable group of car seats for a child, how to install a car seat in a vehicle and how to properly belt a child in a car seat. 4

5 CHILD CAR SEATS HOW TO CHECK IF THE SEAT MEETS THE CONDITIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS REGULATION WITH MARK UN ECE R44? Child restraint systems must have a label with the mark UN ECE R44 which is a guarantee that a child restraint system meets the United Nation Regulation with mark UN ECE R44. Along with the UN ECE R44 mark the label contains other relevant indicators: 1. Group a child restraint system belongs to, 2. Minimum and maximum allowed child mass, 3. Sign Y indicates that car seat has a three-point belt in Y-shaped arrangement: two on shoulders and one between child s legs, 4. E presents a homologation mark of the United Nations, 5. Number next to the E letter indicates the country where license was issued, 6. Homologation number. The first two numbers indicate the number of amendment and supplement that came into force in the rulebook. In this case it is number 04, i.e. the restraint system is in accordance with the fourth amendment and supplement of the rulebook UN ECE R44/04, 7. Bar code (internal manufacturer s number). 5

6 Ministry of Construction, HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CAR SEAT? A child car seat should be chosen according to the mass and the height of a child. Child restraint systems are, according to the mass and height of a child, divided into the following groups: a) b) c) d) e) Group 0 Group 0+ Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Along with the listed groups of child restraint systems there are combined groups that can be adjusted as child grows, thus including two or more groups. The following image shows which mass of a child fits to a certain group of child restraint systems. 6

7 CHILD CAR SEATS GROUP 0 AND GROUP 0+ CAR SEATS Whom are they designed for? Seats from the group 0 are used for infants up to 10 kg (from birth to approximately 6-9 months of age), Seats from the group 0+ are used for infants up to 13 kg (from birth to approximately 12 to 15 months). Child restraint systems from 0/0+ groups 7

8 Ministry of Construction, How do they protect? They provide bigger protection for the head, neck and spine of infant than it is the case with forward-facing seats, because the force of a crash is distributed evenly over the entire back of the car seat and thus prevent overburdening child s neck and back. How are they installed? They are installed in vehicle rear-facing (in the direction opposite to the direction of vehicle movement, that is, never in the driving direction), The back of the seat must be at an angle of 45 with the sitting part of the vehicle seat for infants younger than 3 months, and maximum 60 for infants older than 3 months, Installing a car seat at a bigger angle than prescribed is not allowed because child s head could fall onto chest and thus close the airways. Reducing the angle of installing a car seat a child is put in a more horizontal position and in that way the risk of falling out of the child from the cat seat in case of a road accident increases. They are installed with either vehicle s seat belt or ISOFIX attachment system, The vehicle s seat belt must be pulled through the child car seat correctly and be tight enough (in the part where the lower part of the seat belt is pulled through, the seat cannot move more than 2cm to left or right), Nothing should be placed under a child or between the belts of the car seat and the child, 8

9 CHILD CAR SEATS Bottom, body, neck and head must be in the same plane, leaned against the car seat. The belts must not be entwisted and they should be placed in slots at the same level or little below the shoulders and tight (it is necessary that between the belt and the clavicle there is space for only one finger, not more), If the car seat is installed at the front, co-driver s seat, the air bag must be deactivated. It is advisable to transport a child in rearfacing car seats as long as possible, that is, until the child reaches the mass bigger than maximum allowed for that group of seats, or until the child grows that much so that the top of his head is outside the car seat. A switch for deactivating an air bag 9

10 Ministry of Construction, Car seats are installed in two ways with vehicle s seat belt and ISOFIX system. For the car seats installed with vehicle s seat belts it is very important to read the manufacturer s instructions, but also the instructions for using vehicles in which child restraint system is installed, for they may have limits for installing child restraint systems. It is important that the child restraint systems are tightly attached in the vehicle even when a child is not in it, so that in case of an accident passengers would not be injured. ISOFIX is a system for installing seats using a plug-in attachment, instead of safety belts. Two fastening points are achieved through the plug-in attachments on the seat, and the third one via top tether or foot. ISOFIX symbols Most of the new cars contain ISOFIX system, and it is advisable to use it whenever possible for easier car seat installation than installation with seat belts. Car seats can have a builtin indicator which shows if the car seat is installed at a suitable angle. Seat with an ISOFIX system Indicator of angle accuracy when installing car seats The indicator may show a red area if the angle is wrong, or green area if the car seat is at suitable angle. 10

11 CHILD CAR SEATS GROUP 1 CAR SEATS Whom are they designed for? Seats from group 1 are used for children from 9 to 18 kg body mass (from 9 months to 4 years of age) Along with a required mass of a child, it is necessary for neck muscles and ligaments of a child to be strong enough to hold a head, which, in case of a crash, would continue to move forward. A child usually meets this condition around the age of one, when he or she is able to stand up from a sitting position without anyone s help. Child restraint system from group 1 11

12 Ministry of Construction, How do they protect? The process of forming children bones is not finished until the age of 6 or 7, and skull is softer than adult person s skull. Therefore, it is important that the restraint system limits the moving of the head caused by a head-on collision, but also to provide protection from the side. A five-point belt: two over the shoulders, two over thighs and one between the legs of a child, provides an equal distribution of forces over the entire body of a child in case of collision. How are they installed? They are installed in forward-facing position, The back of the seat should be in upright or slightly reclining position, They are attached with seat belts or ISOFIX system, The belt must be placed as instructed and be tight enough (in the part where the seat belt is pulled through, the seat cannot move more than 2 cm to left or right), 12

13 CHILD CAR SEATS Nothing should be placed under a child or between the belts of the car seat and the child, The belts must not be entwisted and they should be placed in slots at the same level or little above the shoulders and tight (it is necessary that between the belt and the clavicle there is space for only one finger, not more). It is advisable that a child stays in the seat of group 1 as long as possible, that is until he or she reaches the mass bigger than maximally allowed for this group of seats. It may happen that a child overgrows the car seat in height, but not in mass. In that case the child should be moved to another car seat from group 1 with a taller back. A child must not be moved to another car seat from group 2 if it is lighter than 15 kg, whilst the ideal mass would be 18 kg. 13

14 Ministry of Construction, GROUP 2 CAR SEATS (so called booster seats) Children should use these seats only when they overgrow the seats from group 1. Whom are they designed for? Seats from group 2 are designed for children of body mass 15-25kg (approximately 4-6 years of age). How do they protect? Using booster seats for children ages 4 to 7 reduces risk of injuries for 59% compared with using seat belts only. 14

15 CHILD CAR SEATS How are they installed? They are installed in forward-facing position, The back should be in the upright position, Booster seats do not have their own belts, but use the safety belts for adults built in vehicle, a three-point belt that belts the child and the car seat at the same time, The belt of a car should lie over the shoulder, middle of chest and pelvis of a child, and by no means over the neck or stomach, Some additional seat are additionally attached to the vehicle with ISOFIX system. It is considered that a child has overgrown group 2 car seats when he or she reaches the maximum mass allowed for that group, that is 25 kg, and when it is tall enough for belt of a car to be properly placed on the child s body even without a car seat, which is usually the case when a child reaches the height of 1.5 m or more, depending on the car a child is transported. If a child overgrows the group 2 car seat by mass, and still is not tall at least 1.5 m, the child should be moved in a car seat from group 3 with a higher limit for allowed mass 36 kg. Child restraint system from group 2 15

16 Ministry of Construction, GROUP 3 CAR SEATS (so called booster pillows) Whom are they designed for? Seats from group 3 are designed for children from kg body mass (approximately 6-12 years of age). How do they protect? Booster pillows provide the right path of car s safety belts on child s body and thus provide effectiveness of belts, that is, prevent the occurrence of injuries caused by improper placing of safety belts. Child restraint system from group 3 16

17 CHILD CAR SEATS How are they installed? Booster pillows do not have their own belts, but the safety belts for adults installed in vehicle are used, three-point belts. Safety belt for adults is placed around the child and booster pillow, and it is extremely important to place the belt properly on the child s body. The belt of a car should lie over the child s shoulder, middle of chest, and pelvis, and by no means over the child s neck or stomach. The belt must be as tight as possible. A child should stay in this seat until he or she reaches the maximum mass allowed for car seats from group 3, that is 36 kg, and when he or she is tall enough for the for belt of a car to be properly placed on the child s body even without a car seat, which is usually the case when a child reaches the height of 1.5 m or more, depending on the car a child is transported in. 17

18 Ministry of Construction, When is a child ready for fastening without a car seat? 1. The child s mass is 36 kg or height is 150 cm, 2. The child is able to sit with back completely leaned to back of a seat with legs bent over the edge, 3. The belt lies low over the child s pelvis, 4. The belt lies over the middle of the child s shoulder, it does not touch the neck and does not fall of the shoulder, 5. The child is able to stay in this position during the whole travel. A vehicle s seat belt should never be placed behind the the back (than it is useless) or under an armpit (it can break a rib and perforate the heart or lungs). The belt should always lie over the shoulder, middle of chest and over the pelvic bones. An example of incorrect and correct fastening of a child 18

19 CHILD CAR SEATS Ministry of Construction, 2 Mihajlo Pupin Boulevard (east entrance) New Belgrade 011/ / web addresses: abs@abs.gov.rs Director Milan Božović Editor Jelena Milošević Prepared by: Jelena Milošević Dr. Dragoslav Kukić Andrijana Pešić Miroslav Rosić Bojana Luković Graphic processing and design Sector for Research Print 2015 Brochure Child car seats has been prepared with the support of the Ministry of Construction,. 19

20 Ministry of Construction, Republic of Serbia MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE Republic of Serbia ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY AGENCY 20