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https://www.nationalacademies.org/trb/events

Real-World Protection of Booster-Seated Children – Needs and Challenges In Future Transportation

Driven by sustainability goals, passenger cars’ design and ownership setups are changing. Vehicle safety is constantly improving, yet a trend of larger belt-positioning boosters is seen. The objective is to discuss the challenges of child passenger protection in the current and future mobility context. The study focuses on children who can use the vehicle seatbelt together with a booster, typically 4 to 10-12 years. The study is based on protection principles of booster-seated children, with a vehicle-booster-user entity focus. Studies on restraint awareness and usage today, users’ perceptions on future mobility and evolutions of vehicle design and mobility trends, are summarized and reflected on. Real-world protection needs are formulated based on in-vehicle crash testing/simulations, and studies on child passenger sitting postures during drive and evasive maneuvers. This is put in the context of regulatory and booster development trends. In a real-world crash, children are protected by the vehicle and booster in combination. Crash tests/simulations highlight the importance of the seatbelt interaction, influenced by initial beltfit and the dynamic properties of the booster. On-road driving studies show that awake child passengers spend a non-neglectable duration of the trip with a forward head position, due to visibility and activities. A forward head position could also be a result of a pre-impact braking as well as the added space by the booster seat’s backrest. In case of a frontal impact, a more forward head position at time of impact will result in a more forward excursion. Real-world side-impact data shows that the boosterseated child’s head is protected similar to an adult, assisted by the vehicle safety systems. The booster serves as an adapter, not as a primary restraint for the child. Booster-seated children benefit from the vehicle safety systems, given they are raised in position for good beltfit and posture. Addressing the changing trends of passenger cars’ design and ownership setups, the role of the booster should be clearly communicated. Future designs must address issues of usability, portability, and acceptance. As examples, the streamlined roof designs driven by sustainability goals, reduce the roominess in the rear-seat, whereby the booster seat backrest’s width and height might require larger space than needed for an adult; and the trend from personal mobility towards increased degree of shared mobility, emphasizes the need of the booster to be portable or integrated into the vehicle. Real-world child passenger safety involves protection aspects beyond standardized crash testing scenarios. Most importantly, the booster should be used in every trip, irrespectively of passenger car ownership setup. This study provides insight into modern vehicles’ protection capacity in relation to the booster-seated children. It outlines some areas that are affected by the current booster developments, such as the increased size and complexity of booster seats, and the booster cushion ban in some parts of the world. In relation to the current and future transportation context, a booster cushion with appropriate characteristics serves as an essential complement to booster seats (of reasonable size) and will help maintain a positive child safety global trend.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Web
  • Features: Photos; References;
  • Pagination: 19p
  • Monograph Title: 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV): Enhanced and Equitable Vehicle Safety for All: Toward the Next 50 Years

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01889084
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: 23-0187
  • Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
  • Created Date: Jul 27 2023 9:22AM