BOOSTER SEAT EVALUATION: BELT ANCHORAGE LOCATION EFFECT AND PERFORMANCE IN REAR-FACING SEATS. FINAL REPORT

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, "Child Restraint Systems", specifies minimum performance standards for child restraints. The current standard does not address the use of three-point belts with booster seats, nor the use of boosters in rear-facing seats. This study tested belt-positioning booster seats using four sets of anchorage locations. Three of the sets represent the average, maximum, and minimum anchorage locations found in a fleet vehicle survey conducted at the Vehicle Research and Test Center. The fourth set of anchorages corresponds to the specifications found in European Economic Community (ECE) Regulation 44. The dummies were most likely to contact an upper anchorage location in the ECE 44 and the VRTC Minimum positions, giving a high head acceleration value. These two anchorages also may prevent proper centering of the child restraint relative to the anchorage locations. With the VRTC Maximum locations, the measured results indicated that the restraints were effective. However, the films showed severe loading across the dummies' necks, and the 6-year-old's abdomen came out in several tests. The VRTC mean anchorage locations might provide the most equitable evaluation of belt-positioning booster seats. This study also evaluated small shield and belt-positioning booster seats in a rear-facing seat. While the dummies stayed in the booster seats during testing, their heads contacted the rear beam behind the seat, giving misleading HIC and head acceleration results. This contact primarily resulted from significant compression of the seat back foam during the initial portion of the crash pulse. The current FMVSS No. 213 seat fixture appears inappropriate for evaluation of booster seat performance in rear-facing seats or rear impacts.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 191 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00719462
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  • Report/Paper Numbers: VRTC-82-0236, HS-808 092
  • Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
  • Created Date: Mar 21 1996 12:00AM