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Child Safety: Who's Move Is It?
Technical Paper
2003-06-0093
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Today's approval of Child Restraint Systems (CRS) according
to ECE Regulation 44-03 does not take into account the latest
state-of-the-art knowledge concerning child vehicle occupant
safety. For instance, while the present fleet of passenger cars has
an average deceleration pulse of 35 g in a frontal impact, the peak
deceleration achieved in the dynamic sled test for a CRS approval
is considerably less severe at approximately 20 g. New product
innovations like ISOFix have taken too much time to get an
industry-wide agreement and new assessment methods and tools such
as the "side impact procedure with Q-dummies" are after 8
years of research still not implemented.
The protection offered to child occupants in a passenger car
accident could greatly benefit from a better cooperation between
child restraint and car manufacturers and quicker implementation of
new knowledge. Recognizing this potential, the European consumer
and government organizations wish for car manufacturers to be more
responsible for the safely transport of children. These
organizations are developing alternative test procedures that may
overrule ECE R.44 in practice.
This overview paper presents the European trends on child safety
today and aims to give more background to the forces that are into
play. In particular, it will focus on the following aspects with
regard to the child vehicle occupant safety: Influence of consumer
(EuroNCAP) and government (EEVC) organizations; New research
projects (CHILD), assessment methods and proposed rating techniques
(NCAPS); CRS safety regulations and standards (harmonization).
Reviewing the facts about child safety today, it is no longer
justifiable to approve an interchangeable CRS, based on a single
pulse sled test, as an universal safety product for all type of
passenger cars, because the loading of child restraint systems is
completely different in a passenger car test (Euro NCAP) than in a
standard sled test (ECE Regulation 44).