UMTRI Project

Emerging Issues in Child Passenger Safety

Sponsor: George Washington University
Investigator: Miriam A. Manary
08/01/2003 - 07/31/2005

Forward and rearward child restraint systems provide excellent protection for children riding in motor vehicles. The LATCH requirement is expected to further improve the field performance of these systems by providing better coupling of CRS to vehicle than is obtained with vehicle-belt installations in the absence of the tether and by reducing the potential for misuse. The recently enacted Anton’s Law is also expected to change the restraint environment for children by requiring three-point belts in all seating positions. In some vehicles, the center rear seating position may be equipped with a three-point belt but not lower anchorage for use with LATCH. These product trends have prompted discussion at the SAE and ISO committee meeting and among the child passenger safety community. Four sled test series have been performed to address the emerging issues of: RF restraint securement with three-point belts, the effect of using LATCH to secure belt-positioning boosters, investigating the effect of variably-spaced lower LATCH anchors, and exploring the effects of four tethering strategies for rear-facing child restraints.