The Swedish Plus Test
The Swedish Plus Test is recognised worldwide as the toughest crash test for child car seats. It sets tougher limits for impact speed and neck forces than any other test, ensuring that only the safest rear-facing car seats qualify.
By combining higher test speeds, shorter braking distances and advanced neck sensors, the Plus Test reflects real-life crash conditions with unmatched accuracy. Only the most advanced rear-facing car seats can meet these demands, because when it comes to protecting a child’s neck, there’s no room for compromise.
What is the Swedish Plus Test
Developed by Sweden’s National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), the Swedish Plus Test is an independent safety certification that exceeds the EU’s R129 (i-Size) requirements. While most standards focus on overall crash protection, the Plus Test specifically measures neck loads, a critical factor for protecting children in frontal impacts. A car seat that passes the Swedish Plus Test offers exceptional protection and receives the official Swedish Plus Test label, a mark of true safety performance.
Why the Swedish Plus Test matters
While EU-approved car seats meet legal safety requirements, ECE R129 (i-Size) regulations don’t measure neck forces. The Swedish Plus Test was developed by independent experts to fill that gap ensuring only the safest rear-facing car seats protect children’s necks in severe frontal crashes. Because young children have proportionally larger heads and weaker neck muscles, reducing forces on the neck in a collision is essential to achieve true safety.
Axkid car seats that passed the Swedish Plus Test
What makes the Swedish Plus Test stand out
The Swedish Plus Test recreates some of the harshest crash conditions ever used in child safety testing. It uses a higher crash speed of 56 km/h (compared to the EU’s 50 km/h) and a shorter braking distance, creating stronger deceleration forces similar to those in severe real-life accidents.
Each seat is equipped with precision neck sensors that measure strain and tension during impact. Only car seats that keep these forces below strict safety limits pass the test, ensuring the child’s neck remains protected even in severe crashes.
The story behind the test
The Swedish Plus Test was developed in 2007 by safety expert Tommy Pettersson at VTI, to address the limitations of other child car seat safety tests. By incorporating real crash data and advanced measurements of neck load, the Swedish Plus Test sets a new global standard for child car seat safety. It remains the only certification that confirms a seat has passed rigorous testing under the most demanding crash conditions.
Why rear-facing car seats are essential
Research and real-world crash data show that rear-facing car seats offer the most effective protection for small children, especially in frontal collisions. By distributing crash forces across the back and head, rear-facing travel reduces pressure on the neck and spine. The purpose of the Plus Test is to help parents choose the most robust and safest car seat for their children.
Choosing a Plus Tested seat means choosing the highest level of child safety available.
The Swedish Plus Test is one of the toughest and most respected safety certifications, proving that a car seat offers exceptional protection in severe crashes. However, it doesn’t cover automotive testing, heavier dummies or misuse testing. Therefore, we test even further to cover all aspects of reality.