Rating car seats. Crash test of child car seats

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 22:35

A lot of parents think about whether to buy a child car seat. The reason for doubt lies in the high cost of the equipment itself, and even in the fact that trips in a car with a child do not happen so often. Really, is it worth it to spend money on a car seat for children if it will only be used a few times a month?

Crash tests of child car seats

A crash test is a safety test for a child car seat. It is carried out in a special laboratory, where various emergency situations on the roads are simulated, the degree of damage to the car, the damage caused to the driver and passengers is assessed. Of course, no one conducts crash tests on people, they are replaced by special dummies equipped with many sensors. According to the readings of the instruments, one can judge the condition of a person who has been in a car accident.

According to the results of crash tests, a child who is in a car seat at the time of the accident is three times more likely to beinjured than a baby sitting next to an adult or in his arms. At the time of the collision, children who are near one of the parents can be literally crushed by his weight.

If the baby was sitting on the lap of an adult, the outcome will be different. True, no less scary. The child will hit the back of the front seat with force or fly out through the windshield, breaking it with his body. An accident on the road can happen at any time. Even if the driver, realizing that there is a child in the cabin, drives the car extremely carefully, then where is the guarantee that others around will adhere to the same careful driving? Unfortunately, no one is safe from meeting reckless drivers or drunk drivers.

Main groups of child car seats

All child car seats are divided into groups, which take into account the weight of the child and his age. The seat should not be purchased "for growth", because in this case it will not be able to fulfill its main function of protecting the small passenger.

Group name	Baby weight	Age	Chair installation method
0	Up to 9 kg	1 to 6 months	Reverse motion
1	9 to 18 kg	9 months to 4 years	In the direction of travel
2	15 to 25 kg	3 to 7 years old	In the direction of travel
3	22 to 36 kg	6 to 12 years old	In the direction of travel

Combined groups of child car seats

Besides this, there is another classification in which the parameters of several groups are combined. The car seat rating indicates that the combined model is in high demand due to the ability to use it for much longer.

Group name	Baby weight	Age	Chair installation method
0+/1	Up to 18 kg	Birth to 4 years	In the direction of travel
1+	9 to 18 kg	1 to 4 years old	In the direction of travel
2/3	15 to 36 kg	3 to 12 years old	In the direction of travel
1/2/3	From 9 to 36 kg	1 to 12 years old	In the direction of travel

When deciding to purchase a chair from a combined group, you should study all the advantages and disadvantages of the selected model. Since even if all the necessary safety standards are observed, the manufacturer is always forced to do somethingthen give up.

Universal car seat for children from 1 to 12 years old

In order to save money, most parents tend to purchase a multifunctional car seat. Children 9–36 kg will feel quite comfortable in it. Such chairs belong to group 1/2/3. They are very practical as they are intended for use by children of three age groups: from 1 year to 12 years. Car seat tests also show that this variety is reasonably safe.

These models have a reinforced frame and a plastic base. The back is removable. The straps and headrest can be adjusted according to the height of the child. The car seat for children of this type is equipped with a soft insert. For older children, they transform into a booster, with which the child rises to the level of seat belts reinforced in the car.

Frameless car seat

Recently, very often you can hear an offer to buy a frameless car seat instead of a full-fledged children's model. According to manufacturers and sellers of such chairs, they are absolutely safe and able to reliably protect the child from injury in the event of an accident. However, experts have a slightly different opinion on this matter.

The frameless car seat has absolutely no protection for the body. There is no support for the head of the child. In the event of an emergency, the baby is very likely to receive a serious spinal injury or concussionbrain.

Traveling in a car is quite tiring for young children. For this reason, in full-fledged seats, it is possible to transfer them to a horizontal position in order to give the small passenger the opportunity to sleep. A child will not be able to rest in a frameless car seat, which can be a difficult test not only for the baby, but also for others.

Setting up a frameless chair isn't as easy as the manufacturers claim. In addition, the restraint straps are attached behind the back of the car seat, which can easily tip over and crush the child in a collision. Thus, of all the declared advantages of such chairs, only the low price remains true.

Car seat rating

1. Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix. Country of origin - Holland. Designed for children from birth to 15 months. Provides maximum protection.
2. Cybex Aton Basic. The country of origin is Germany. The age limits are the same as the previous model. It has reinforced side protection, a comfortable headrest and the ability to fix the back in different positions.
3. Dino 4baby. Country of origin - Poland. Despite the fact that the rating of car seats gave this model only the third place, in terms of popularity it is ahead of the previous two. Dino 4baby is a multifunctional car seat designed for children from 1.5 to 12 years old. It meets all safety standards, is very comfortable and durable. If the rating of car seats took into account the demand for the product frombuyers, then, according to the majority of users, the Dino 4baby model would take the first place.