Children's car seats

A child under five in a correctly fitted restraint is 70% less likely to suffer death or serious injury in a car crash. That's why using a child car seat for under-fives is the law and for children aged 5-7 you must continue to use one if you have one they fit into. But what happens when that all-important birthday arrives?

Then, a child who can't fit an adult's trousers, can legally sit in an adult's seat. Yet children inappropriately using an adult belt are 3.5 times more likely to be injured than their same-age peers in a booster seat.

Why? Children are shorter. They slouch to get their knees over the seat edge, so the hip belt rides up over their vulnerable abdomens; the chest belt sits too near their vulnerable necks.

A booster seat places the child properly in the seatbelt, so it can work as it's designed to. One with side wings is more likely to stay in place in a side impact, and will help protect a child's head.

How big should a child be to use the adult belts? Independent studies say 148cm in height - the height of many 12-year-olds.

The basics

Child car seats need to be properly fitted in your car. Plunket is happy to check.

Make sure your child is snugly strapped in. Don't put blankets behind them - the softer layer lets a body move around too much in the belt

Use a rear-facing seat for as long as possible. A child's head is large and heavy in relation to their body - and their necks are weak. Even a minor scrape can severely strain a forward-facing child's neck. Research by Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has led them to recommend that children should face backwards until they are 4 years old and this is accepted practice in Sweden.

When buying a seat, only buy second-hand if you know the history. A seat that's been in a crash may have suffered hidden damage. Also, plastics and harnesses weaken with time; child seats do have use-by dates

Never put a child seat in the front when there's a front airbag, even if it's switched off. Side airbags have never been known to cause an injury that wouldn't have been caused by the crash itself

This article first appeared in the Spring 2006 edition of AA Directions Magazine.

Category:

Faults, safety and reliability

3 comments

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16 November 2011 | By rbonham

Unless the car seat has obvious damage then there is no need to automatically replace after an accident. As a car seat is not directly connected to the cars frame the chances of damage are reduced.

14 November 2011 | By brotan

Hi there,

Can you tell me what AA recommendations are regarding car seat replacement and motor vehicle accidents with enough force to bend the structure/chasis of the car involved?

Thanks

8 September 2011 | By bob.annie

This is great info.As a grandparent I hire a car seat from baby on the move in Dunedin they install it. For the time our grandson is in NZ. PS car seats have expiry dates

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