An Airbag-Safe Infant Seat

A rearward-facing infant restraint (RFIR) planned for use in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with a passenger-side airbag has been prototyped and subjected to crash tests under FMVSS 213 test conditions-- including a deploying passenger airbag and a CRABI 6-months old dummy. This RFIR design is discussed in detail, including energy management assumptions, design objectives, and the preliminary development testing.

The RFIR prototype's design development test data are compared to a set of evaluation criteria. The results indicate the potential value of this rearward-facing infant restraint for controlling the motion, forces, and accelerations an infant could be exposed to during airbag/infant restraint interaction.