Too big. Too heavy. Or simply dissatisfied. No matter what the reason, as soon as a child has outgrown the infant car seat, the search for the next child seat begins. And with it the discussion. Should the child drive forward or backward? According to the old, but still valid ECE-R 44 test standard, offspring weighing nine kilograms or more are allowed to sit in the direction of travel. The new i-Size standard (ECE-R 129), on the other hand, is no longer based on the weight, but on the height of the child (see graphic below). According to this, these so-called rear-facing car seats are suitable from 75 centimetres, some from birth, up to a height of 105 centimetres.
Seats according to the i-Size standard must ensure that the small passenger can travel rearward-facing for up to 15 months. Only then does the question of the direction of travel begin – as long as the rear-facing car seat can also be turned forward. "The initial problem is that people often switch from the infant car seat to the next seat too early," explains Dr. Gerd Müller, automotive engineer at TU Berlin. Reboarders are a good answer to this. In newborns, the head accounts for a quarter of the total height and weight. By comparison, the head of an adult man corresponds to six percent of his total weight. Even in small children, the head is still too heavy and too large in relation to the body and the muscle development in the cervical spine. In the event of an accident, the biggest problem is the nodding of the head forward. "It's a sluggish mass that accelerates. This can lead to serious injuries to the cervical spine," explains Dr. Christopher Spering, who is head of the Prevention Section of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery (DGOU). The straps over the chest have to absorb all the energy, says the senior physician at the University Hospital in Göttingen. "It makes a big difference whether this can be absorbed over the backrest" – as is the case with the rear-facing car seat.
Sweden as a role model
5078 of the children involved in accidents on German roads were injured in cars in 2018. 1223 were under four years old, six of whom died. In Sweden, this number is close to zero. There it is common for children up to four years of age to ride rearward-facing. Although it is not required by law. According to the Swedish state agency Trafikverket, children are up to five times more likely to be injured or killed when they drive forward. With this figure, advocates of rear-facing car seats are also fuelling the discussion, which in some circles often drifts into the unobjective.
"It is very good that we have reached the 15 months in Germany. But it makes sense to expand this based on the physical and anatomical parameters of children," says Dr. Spering. In addition to the heavy head, the chest area is not as stable and the abdomen is less protected by the weaker abdominal muscles. "You know this from us in a normal seat: If you are trapped in the belt tensioner, the thoracic injuries are already severe for adults, and even worse for children," explains the trauma surgeon. The transfer of energy to the internal organs is much higher because the thorax is softer. "The seat shell protects more when the children are pressed into it."
However, rear-facing driving does not only have advantages. This makes interaction with the child much more difficult. "The risk of distraction should not be underestimated," says Dr. Müller. In addition, there is a suspicion that children who drive backwards are more likely to suffer from travel sickness. However, the automotive engineer sees the biggest problem of the large rear-facing car seats in the space required. If these cannot be installed correctly in the car and the front passenger no longer has legroom, this is not a gain in safety.
Common mistakes
Dr. Gerd Müller has conducted a study on the subject of incorrect securing (misuse) of child seats and children in the car on behalf of the Accident Research of the Insurers (UDV). With frightening results. Two-thirds of all child seats are used incorrectly, so that the protective effect is limited or even completely eliminated. These misuses were found in all child seat models. "You are amazed at all the things you can do wrong," reports Dr. Müller. Swapped belts, loose belts, incorrect belt routing especially with child seats without Isofix attachment... "Isofix makes a major contribution to preventing misuse," he explains. Nevertheless, these anchoring options on the child seat, which can be easily connected to the Isofix eyelets in the car, are not so widespread. "People are not willing to spend more money on it," explains Dr. Müller. Belted seats are often more dangerous for the child, especially if they are heavy. "If a child seat is not attached with Isofix, the children have to brake the seat in the event of an accident. The seat also slips into the belts and the child is squeezed," reports Dr. Spering.
The right seat
Not every seat fits in every car. And not every seat to every child. "It is essential that you put a child in a seat that fits the child," says the doctor. This is not the only reason why good advice is indispensable when buying (see box on the left). The advantage of rear-facing car seats, which can be used from birth, is that even small, delicate children are in good hands in them. Various cushions as seat reducers allow the offspring to sit comfortably and safely.
The question still arises as to when it makes sense for children to drive backwards. But the experts do not quite agree on this. "I'm not a fan of driving backwards for a long time," admits Dr. Müller. For him, 15 to 18 months are enough. "I don't want to give an exact age because the development is different." But if children could walk, they would have well-developed neck muscles to be able to drive forward. "It's not wrong for children to drive backwards for longer, but I see disadvantages there," explains Dr. Müller. For example, there is often an acceptance problem from the age of two, because the offspring wants to look in the same direction as everyone else. The accident physician Dr. Spering sees it differently: "I would only let people drive forward from the age of three." After that, there are anatomical limits. But children up to the age of three can be positioned well in such seats.
If you can't decide whether to move forward or backward, it's best to use a child seat that can be rotated. So all possibilities remain open.
Tips for buying a child seat
- Do not change to the next larger child seat too early.
- Buy your child seat in a specialist shop with good advice.
- Let your child try out as many models as possible.
- Make sure that the straps are in the right place for the child.
- Only buy a seat that fits your child well and in which the child feels comfortable.
- For a test, install the child seat in all cars with which you want to transport your child.
- The passenger should still have enough legroom to sit safely.
Interview with crash test expert Sarah Vasconi
How are child seats of Stiftung Warentest basically tested?
Stiftung Warentest tests safety in elaborate crash tests. Frontal and side impact are on the agenda here. The test conditions are the same for all child seats. If a child seat offers different types of attachment, for example Isofix or three-point belt, forwards or rearwards, with or without base, backrest with resting position, then the testers carry out a corresponding number of crash tests for all variants. This also applies to dummies of different sizes, for example in child seats that grow with the child. Stiftung Warentest calculates the test result for accident protection from the crash test results of all attachment types. If a seat can be mounted forwards and rearwards, it must pass both crash tests with flying colours. If it fails one of the installation types, it receives a correspondingly poor quality rating. The tests are based on the ECE-R 44 and R 129 regulations.
- Frontal impact: The test body with the child seat is accelerated to 64 km/h in the event of a frontal impact. This is a higher speed than specified in ECE-R 129, which results in a higher accident severity. Then she crashes into the obstacle. High-speed cameras capture every movement: 1000 frames per second. These video sequences are carefully evaluated in case there are poor test results. The extreme slow motion does not miss a moment during the impact.
- Side impact: The body is mounted transversely on the test carriage. Impact at about 25 kilometers per hour against a fixed door. Deviating from ECE-R 129: The door is only clad with 20 millimeters of Styrodur and the impact angle is 80 instead of 90 degrees.
How do different accident scenarios affect a child in a child seat?
For some experts, rear-facing driving is the only option for up to four years. How do you see that?
One of the great advantages of rear-facing driving is the support of the head in the event of an accident. The older a child is, the smaller the head becomes compared to the rest of the body and thus the load on the head and neck area in the event of an impact tends to decrease with age, because the neck and back muscles can better hold and absorb the proportionally smaller head. The older a child gets, the longer it gets. Due to the size of the child, there are at some point space problems for the legs and difficulties in getting in independently. Rear-facing driving up to the age of two seems to be a good compromise.
What disadvantages do you see with rear-facing driving?
Sitting in and fastening your seat belt is a bit more complex. Common problems can also be that the child feels sick, has too little or no space for his legs, and/or that the child does not see me and I do not see the child.
source : ARCD tip: How children up to four years of age travel safely in the car
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