Child Passenger Safety and Occupant Protection

Conference Call8-20-09

Extending 5-point Harnessing:

Forward Facing Seat Options for Heavier

Children

Caroline Langrall, CCLS, CPSTMt. Washington Pediatric Hospital

Outline

★Challenges

★Crash Dynamics

★Seat Options

★Special Needs

Challenges

•Lack of research

•Historically, majority of affordable seats offered FFing harnessing to 40lbs.

•Rise in Obesity

•3+y/o male,90th percentile for weight= 40lbs. (CDC, 2000)

•Maturity for booster use.

Challenges•Child must be

mature enough to sit in a booster

•40lb, 4 year old

•Dislodged belt from belt guide.

Challenges

•4 year old. 42 lbs

•Low back booster

Challenges

•3 years, 9 months. 48lbs

•Not overweight

•(No booster)

Crash Dynamics•A five-point harness system makes contact

with the strongest parts of the body – the hips and shoulders, and transfer crash forces over those strong parts of the body...and into 5 points on the seat. (Britax USA)

•The Iliac Crest (hip bones) isn’t fully developed until age 6-10. This crest keeps the lap belt in position.

• Poor belt fit increases the risk of abdominal injuries.

Crash Dynamics

Booster vs. 5-point harness

Crash Dynamics

•A forward facing, top- tethered seat reduces head excursion:

Weber, Kathleen; Crash Protection For Child Passengers: A Review of Best Practice. UMTRI Research Review, July-September 2000

Tethered

Not Tethered

Seat Options

•Many new seats offer rear-facing 35-40lbs and forward facing harness limits of 50+lbs

•Tall children: look for high top harness slots.

•Conventional seats for Special Needs

Graco MyRide 65

•RF to 40lbs, FF to 65lbs

•head pillow to 40lbs

•infant insert: 1st harness slot

•top harness height=16”

•natural recline FFing

Safety 1st Complete Air

•“Air Protect” Technology

•RF: 40lbs, FF: 50lbs

•10.5” lowest slot

•17” top slot

Radian XT•RF: 40lbs

(retroactive on 65/80/XT, Sept 1, 2008+)

•FF: 80lbs (top harness slots: 17”)

•EPS foam headwings (can’t use on 1st and 2nd harness slots)

•Can tether RF

•Removable Harness

Britax Roundabout 50

•RF: 35lbs, FF: 50lbs

•Same harness dimensions as Marathon (16.5”)

•No belt lock-offs, no HUGS.

•Can tether RF

•Can recline FFing to 33lbs

True Fit Premier•RF:35lbs, FF: 65lbs

•Rebound Energy Management System

•Must use “upper seatback” headpiece after 22lbs. (not shown in picture below)

•Has built-in belt lockoffs

Britax Frontier

•Minimums: 2 years, 25 lbs.

•Max harness: 80lbs.

•18.25” top harness slot.

•Booster can be used beyond 100lbs

•assuming: appropriate belt fit, ears below top of seat, and expiration (9 yrs booster).

Graco Nautilus

•20-65lbs 5-point harness

•30-100 HBB

•40-100 LBB

•100% of the base must be on vehicle seat

•Debate about buckle being under child.

Additional Seats

Apex 6520-65lbs harnessbooster to 100lbs*vehicle headrest

Evenflo Triumph Advance

5-50lbs

Britax Regent20-80lbs

Discontinued?

Special Needs

•A child may need 5-point harness beyond conventional seat offerings:

•behavioral issues

•muscle tone

•medical condition

•search safekids.org for a local CPST trained in special needs.

Other Seats

•Available for download on saferidenews.com

•Missing some new seats

Caregiver Education

•Top tethering

•Reminder about vehicle LATCH limits

•Child may reach height limits before weight.

•Harness at or ABOVE shoulders for Forward Facing.

•Child’s torso proportion is key.

Thank you for your time!

Questions?

phomiak@miemss.org