EVALUATION OF THE DYNAMIC TEST REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD RESTRAINTS ACCORDING TO THE ECE 44 REGULATION

An evaluation of the dynamic test requirements of the ECE 44 child restraint regulation is made, based on 1 1/2 years of experience with a wide variety of child-restraint systems in about 450 tests. The performance of current "state of the art" child-restraint concepts is discussed, the conclusion being that most current designs need substantial modifications to fulfil the ECE 44 requirements. There is a problem with the seats using adult 3-point belts as regards the chest acceleration tolerances. The padded shield-type seats with lap belts, on the other hand, have a tendency to exceed the maximum head excursion limit of 550 mm. Most systems using belts show abdominal penetration, often resulting in a submarining. The regulation is found to be very restrictive, which could lead to overcomplicated systems likely to be rejected by parents. A cause of the difficulty can be the seat cushion of the ECE 44 bench seat which seems to be too soft. Some improvements to the dummies and the abdominal penetration measurements is discussed. Measurement of head accelerations is proposed because of the possibility of head contacts with certain types of restraint systems. (Author/TRRL)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Proceedings of the 7th International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impacts, Cologne, September 8, 9, 10, 1982.
• Corporate Authors:

  IRCOBI (International Research Council on the Biokinetics of Impacts)

  109 Avenue Salvador Allende
  Bron CEDEX,   France  F-69675
• Authors:
  • Bastiaanse, J C
  • Maltha, J
  • Tak, AGM
• Conference:
  • Proceedings of the 7th International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impacts, Cologne, September 8, 9, 10, 1982.
• Publication Date: 1982

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 241-255

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Abdomen; Acceleration (Mechanics); Anthropometry; Biophysics; Child restraint systems; Children; Compliance; Conferences; Crash tests; Design; Dummies; Dynamic tests; Engineering tolerance; Evaluation and assessment; Head; Manual safety belts; Passive restraint systems; Pendulum tests; Safety; Specifications; Standards; State of the art studies; Tolerance (Physiology); Vehicle safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Safety standards
• Old TRIS Terms: Tolerances; Vehicular safety
• ITRD Terms: 2035: Abdomen; 1618: Anthropometric dummy; 2060: Biomechanics; 1758: Child; 8525: Conference; 9011: Design (overall design); 9020: Evaluation (assessment); 2051: Human tolerance; 1648: Impact test (crash); 1466: Passive safety system; 6285: Penetration; 1476: Safety belt; 177: Specifications
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00371407
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-036 510
• Files: HSL, ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 29 1984 12:00AM