PERFORMANCE OF CHILD RESTRAINTS IN CRASHES AND IN LABORATORY TESTS

All child restraints available in Australia have been subjected to a programme of dynamic crash simulation studies. Devices approved by the standards association of Australia have been shown to have a generally good performance, and those not so approved a generally poor one. 139 crashes involving restrained children have been studied in the field. This paper reports an analysis of 57 of the more serious ones, involving 65 children, in which the restraint system was subjected to significant crash loads or failed in some way. Bucket-type child restraints approved by the standards association of Australia have been shown to have a good performance, with the main reason for injury to the child being intrusion of the child's survival space. Unapproved frame-type seats performed very poorly and exposed children to the risk of severe injury. The use of adult seat belts, if firmly adjusted, offered good protection to even small children. /Author/TRRL/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was presented at the seat belt seminar, Melbourne, 9th - 11th March 1976, conducted by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Transport.
• Corporate Authors:

  New South Wales Dept of Motor Transport, Australia

  Traffic Accident Research Unit, Tethschild Ave, Roseberry
  Sydney, New South Wales 2018,   Australia 
• Authors:
  • HENDERSON, J M
  • Herbert, D C
  • Vazey, B A
  • Stott, J D
• Publication Date: 1976-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 41 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Children; Crash injury research; Crash tests; Crashes; Economic efficiency; Failure; Front seats; Infants; Injuries; Loads; Manual safety belts; Performance; Research; Restraint systems; Seats
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bucket seats; Efficiency
• Geographic Terms: Australia
• Old TRIS Terms: Minors; Passenger restraints; Seat (Car)
• ITRD Terms: 8006: Australia; 1758: Child; 1631: Collision; 8525: Conference; 5910: Durability; 5911: Efficiency; 5520: Failure; 1648: Impact test (crash); 1768: Infant; 2163: Injury; 5567: Load; 1466: Passive safety system; 1476: Safety belt; 1388: Seat (veh); 187: Specification (standard)
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00157367
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: Acc. Res. Unit 3/76 Monograph
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 13 1977 12:00AM