With some of the safest roads in Europe and car manufacturers determined to achieve five-star Euro NCAP ratings, you might consider UK drivers to be among the most safety-conscious around. But there’s one area where we’re falling behind our continental cousins and possibly putting the most valuable people to us – our kids – in danger: the child seat.
The regulations are currently undergoing some of the biggest changes in years to make them simpler for buyers to understand, but how much do you really know about child seat safety, and what’s best for your toddler?
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To get the lowdown, Auto Express visited the crash lab of top child seat manufacturer Britax in Andover, Hampshire. Showing us the whole line-up of car seat options, Mark Bennett, senior technical and training manager at Britax, explained that European buyers are much more concerned with what they’re buying and how their children are seated.
In the UK, Mark said, buyers are more focused on what a seat looks like and how much it costs, rather than its safety rating. Attitudes are slowly changing, with new iSize regulations making it much easier to understand what’s required and what’s legal. Isofix fixings – first introduced on a 1997 VW Golf – are more common on new models, too.
“Seven out of 10 get the belted solution wrong and Isofix is about trying to eliminate user error,” explained Mark, who has been running car seat check clinics for 22 years. “You could buy the best seat in the world, but if it’s not fitted properly, it’s a waste of money. Retailers invest quite a bit in staff training because most people are passionate about getting it right.”
Part of the problem is that many buyers do not go to one of these safety-conscious retailers for relevant fitment advice, instead preferring to buy second-hand.
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The reason parents go down this route is car seats aren’t cheap. Britax options range from £100 to £300, but Mark pointed out the first £100 seat was back in 1990, so prices have stayed stable despite increases in safety standards.
Mark added: “As a brand, it’s difficult to come out and say ‘don’t buy second-hand’ as people will say we want them to buy ours. But I did some accident investigations, and every time I have seen a serious injury it was misuse – and generally on a second-hand seat because parents do not have any clue how to use it.” Mark said getting it wrong is getting harder, though, as new tech makes life easier. Some of the latest developments include a click and a green light when the seat is secured properly, tensioning belts to keep the child in place when they move around and a warning alarm if they move too much and aren’t secured.
SecureGuard is the latest launch from Britax, and this adds an extra harness point to booster seats for reducing the pressure on soft stomach tissue by 31 per cent. Mark added: “We’re trying to push the boundaries and understand the real world, rather than just testing.”
What benefits Britax in the quest for superior safety is its on-site crash lab, where it can test out new products quicker than rivals as well as carry out detailed quality control – one in every 5,000 units is pulled from the line for a check.
We also met Andy Whiteway, Andover test facility and homologation manager, for a guided tour of the lab, which has worked with Ford, Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley. Inside are two sleds – one set up for the standard R44 test and another, larger one to test higher levels than legally required for ultimate safety.
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The R44 test impact occurs at a speed of 50kph (31mph) with 24g of deceleration. Testers look at the structural integrity of the products using 500-frames-per-second cameras. An imaginary box is drawn around the seat and the child dummy must stay within the confines for it to pass.
The larger sled accelerates to 70kph (43mph) on impact, creating a startling 42g of deceleration when stopping.
It’s not cheap, either. The Q Series child dummy costs £110,000 each and there’s a whole family ranking from just months old up to 10 years. They record 27 channels of data that require an £80,000 software package.
With so much money being ploughed into research and development, there’s no excuse for children not to be secured in the best way possible. Britax is optimistic its work can help the UK catch up with Europe – and having seen the efforts it’s expending, Auto Express can see why.
Buying a child car seat: top tips
- • Check your car's Euro NCAP results
- • Consider how often you'll need to fit/unfit the seat
- • Let your child play a role in the buying process
- • Avoid second-hand child car seats
Knowing which seat to buy means doing a lot of cross-analysis. Start by looking up your vehicle’s Euro NCAP test scores. The new car assessment programme (NCAP) includes a child restraint system installation where popular seat options are fitted to your car and rated.
It’s also good to consider how you are going to be using the seat. Do you use your car for both business and family use, and would need to constantly remove the seat to switch between the roles? In that case a lighter seat would be preferable.
Perhaps long family trips are part of the weekend plans - in which case a seat that reclines and more soft padding would be a worthwhile investment.
Having your child with you when you shop for the seat is always a good idea; see what they think and whether they fit comfortably in the seats on offer.
Avoid purchasing second-hand child car seats. Similar to motorcycle helmets, they often come with materials that absorb shock forces only once, meaning they may look like they're in immaculate condition but could prove useless in a crash if they’ve been involved in one before.
What the legislation says
Children must normally use a child car seat until they’re 12 years old or 135cm tall. Only EU-approved car seats must be used – they’ll be labelled with a capital E in a circle.
Child seats are based on either height or weight requirements. If you’re using a weight-based seat, they must be rear-facing until the baby weighs more than 9kg.
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After that, you can select from various options – under R44 regulations – with overlaps between weights.
Height-based systems come under the new iSize regulations, and there are no overlaps. Under these laws, children must be rear-facing until they’re over 15 months old, when they can be placed in a forward-facing seat.
iSize will run alongside R44 regulations for a few years and will be rolled out in phases over the next seven years.
Do you have a child car seat, or are thinking of buying? Let us know your views in the comments section below...