Validation of Loading Marks on Child Safety Seats through Testing

The authors have analyzed hundreds of real world crashes and simulated crash tests involving child safety seats. These child safety seats were involved in impacts with a variety of principle directions of force and changes in velocity. Indications of loading of the child safety seat seen during inspections were used by the authors to draw conclusions relative to how the child safety seat was used and loaded during the collision. It was hypothesized that if these marks were created due to loading in the subject crash as expected, that a test program with a similar principle direction of force and load levels could be conducted and the test seats would exhibit similar loading marks. For each of the cases discussed, the authors have inspected the actual child seat involved in a crash and then conducted a test or tests on representative sample(s) of the same type of child safety seat. Following the tests, these child safety seats were inspected for loading marks and comparisons were made.