Isofix car seats: advantages and disadvantages
Isofix car seats: advantages and disadvantages

Video: Isofix car seats: advantages and disadvantages

Video: Isofix car seats: advantages and disadvantages
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Which is better to choose - isofix car seats or simple designs with regular belts? The presented question most often worries responsible parents who are looking for the safest way to transport a child in a car. We will try to clarify this situation by considering the main advantages and disadvantages of car seats with Isofix mounts.

What are isofix car seats?

car seats with isofix
car seats with isofix

Isofix technology complies with generally accepted European standards for securing child seats in cars. During installation, the latter are connected directly to the vehicle body. This eliminates the need for seat belts. To ensure the safety of the kids during the movement, it is enough to fix the car seats with isofix using a special fastening device located on the back seat.

In recent years, the technology is increasingly adopted by domestic vehicle manufacturers. So todaysimilar systems can be seen in the basic configuration of the most numerous machines.

Reliability

car seats isofix 9 36
car seats isofix 9 36

Car seat up to 36 kg isofix fixedly connected to the rigid frame of the car, providing a secure fixation of the user in a static position. Thus, when the car comes to a sudden stop, the child seat is completely prevented from flying out in the frontal direction and, accordingly, the risk of injury is reduced.

Additional fixation

car seat up to 36 kg isofix
car seat up to 36 kg isofix

Users who find it not enough to connect the seat to the car frame are offered hard stops, which provide the possibility of additional fixation of the structure to the floor. The mount is a kind of “leg” that connects to the chair at the base and limits its movement in any direction.

Easy installation

The next advantage that isofix car seats (9-36 kg) differ in is the absence of installation problems. As practice shows, the bulk of the damage that children receive in the event of an accident is caused by the displacement of the seat, secured by the base belts.

Installation of a car seat with isofix eliminates errors and, as a result, incorrect operation of elements that are responsible for safety in extreme situations. The correct installation of structures of this type is possible for 90% of users who encounter such systems for the first time. The remaining 10% of cases of incorrect installation are attributable to consumers who had to havedealing with counterfeit products.

Driver safety

car seat 15 36 isofix
car seat 15 36 isofix

Because the isofix system automatically latches into the mounts, the driver does not have to remember whether he has fastened the child seat before the trip or not. This moment is extremely important, because even the lightest, empty seat that flies into the head of the car owner in the event of an accident can cause the most serious injuries.

Design

Before we get to the disadvantages of isofix car seats, it's worth noting that most of them look more like capsules used by Formula 1 racers than designs for children. In addition to connecting to the frame of the car, it has its own seat belts. Therefore, the fixation of the child occurs directly to the chair. And this contributes to the dissipation of energy, which occurs in the event of sudden braking and, accordingly, reduces the load that the young passenger has to experience.

Disadvantages of chairs with Isofix system

car seat with isofix 9 36
car seat with isofix 9 36

Like any other product, the isofix car seat (9-36 kg) has its drawbacks:

  1. Isofix acts as a rigid mount. Therefore, any serious collision causes quite high loads on the cervical spine of the baby, fixed in the chair.
  2. With such a seat, the motorist is forced to endure unnecessary inconvenience when it is necessary to change the car.
  3. If the family has several vehicles, it is necessaryresort to extra spending on their equipment with Isofix mounts.
  4. Any car seat (15-36) isofix is about 25-30% heavier than conventional harnesses with belt mounts.
  5. Obvious disadvantage of this type of constructions is rather high cost. The price of such products, compared with chairs where there are no Isofix mounts, is 50-60% higher. Therefore, highly reliable European-style systems are far from affordable for every interested consumer.

In closing

As you can see, the disadvantages of child car seats with the Isofix system are much less compared to the benefits that the user receives when using such structures. The most important advantage of such systems is the highest level of safety that is provided to the child while traveling by car.

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