Compulsory child seats up to school age: young passengers under twelve years of age who are smaller than 1.50 meters are only allowed to ride in cars with special restraint systems.
(photo: picture alliance / dpa-tmn)
A child seat must be a perfect fit for the little passenger – and for the car. Because mistakes in model selection, installation or handling of the seat can have dire consequences for the child if an accident occurs.
No matter where the car journey goes with offspring on board: child seats are compulsory. For all passengers under twelve years of age who are less than 1.50 meters tall. "Inadequately restrained children are seven times more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a car", warns andreas bergmeier of the german traffic safety council (dvr).
All it takes is a supposedly harmless rear-end collision. "In the crash, children who are restrained only by an adult seat belt slide down through the lap belt. This cuts into the abdomen and can cause serious internal injuries", explains bergmeier.
Four weight classes
Finding the right model is difficult: parents have to find their way through an almost unmanageable range of options. For initial orientation, it helps to weigh the child. Because the restraint systems are divided into four body weight classes – from infant carriers (group 0+), in which the youngest passengers ride backwards and semi-recumbent, to seats for toddlers (I) and systems for kindergarten and school children (II and III). the maximum permissible body weight is indicated on the ECE test mark on the seat.
If a baby car seat is placed in the front of the car, the passenger airbag must be switched off. Otherwise, the child’s life is in danger, as this crash test shows.
This seal also reveals whether a child seat is outdated: "since april 2008, only systems that meet ECE standard 44/03 or 44/04 may be used.", explains jan schepmann from the german technical inspection association (vdtuv). However, there are differences in quality even with current models. That is why you should compare test results.
Test sitting in the parking lot
It is best to buy a child seat from a specialist retailer – and not second-hand at the flea market. Second-hand systems may look neat, but they may not offer the protection you need. "A child seat can be damaged in its structure by an accident, which is not always visible", says lothar wech from TuV sud.
Many dealers allow their customers to try out the new products on site. This makes the purchase decision easier: the children can try out the seat and the parents can test it in the parking lot to see if it fits in their car. "This quickly reveals whether a model is difficult to fit in the back seat of a three-door car, for example, or whether it is too bulky overall", explains schepmann.
Dangerous airbag
Very important: a child seat must be secured in the car exactly according to the manufacturer’s specifications – either with one of the existing three-point belts or with isofix. Experts recommend this bracket because it is firmly attached to the car body. But not every car has this anchoring system and most isofix seats are only approved for certain vehicle models – so before buying, check the installation instructions.
Don’t let up: the seat belts must be fastened so tightly that there is no more than a hand’s width of air between them and the child.
(photo: picture alliance / dpa-tmn)
Even the best child seat is of little use if it is not securely mounted or is mounted in the wrong position in the car. Installing a baby car seat or toddler seat in the front passenger seat against the direction of travel without switching off the airbag is one of the most serious mistakes: if the airbag is triggered, it hits the car seat and endangers the baby’s life. "That’s one of the reasons why we recommend fitting baby seats on the right-hand side of the rear seat.", says andreas ratzek from the ADAC technical center.
Not too much freedom of movement
According to ratzek, forward-facing seating systems for older children are also best placed on the right side of the rear seat. If they are installed in the front of the car after all, the operating instructions for the vehicle and child seat must be read to check whether this is even permissible, says the ADAC expert. In most cases, the airbag can remain activated if the passenger seat is pushed back as far as possible.
Like the grown-ups, children should of course also travel as comfortably as possible in the car. But they must not have too much freedom of movement: there should be no more than a hand’s width of space between the seat belts and the child’s body, says ratzek.