Development of an Alternative Five-Point Restraint Harness to Accommodate Children with Special Healthcare Needs in Child Safety Seats

This article reports on a study that developed an alternative harness for a commercial automotive child restraint system (CRS) to accommodate a subset of children with special healthcare needs. The alternative harness is designed for children for whom a five-point harness cannot be positioned over medically involved areas and/or children whose conditions require the harness belts to be threaded through medical devices. The authors conducted initial design work and a series of frontal sled-impact tests, then chose one of two prototype designs to undergo fit testing on children with and without healthcare conditions. The authors determined that the CRS with alternate harness provides good fit to children with a variety of healthcare needs and complies with all performance criteria, notably Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213). There was one exception, peak forward head excursion, as tested with the Hybrid III 6-year-old crash-test dummy. The authors conclude that the new harness is a low-cost solution for achieving a safer level of transportation for children who may otherwise travel unrestrained or with a severely misused CRS harness. The harness is easy to use, acceptable to parents, and can be used with a variety of children with special health care needs (CSHCN).

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.3233/PRM-2012-0192
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/18745393
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Special Issue: Transportation Safety for Children with Special Healthcare Needs.
• Authors:
  • Brinkey, Lori
  • Manary, Miriam A
  • Santioni, Daniel
• Publication Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 289-300
• Serial:
  • Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine: An Interdisciplinary Approach
  • Volume: 4
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: IOS Press
  • ISSN: 1874-5393
  • EISSN: 1875-8894
  • Serial URL: http://www.iospress.nl/html/18745393.php

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Child restraint systems; Children; Highway safety; Persons with disabilities; Physical disabilities; Restraint systems; Safety education; Special user groups; Standards
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01499366
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 21 2013 9:20AM