Rear-facing has been proven to be up to five times safer when compared to forward facing and saves children’s lives every day. The facts are clear, rear-facing safety makes a huge difference for your child in the event of an accident.
Yet, we see terrifying numbers of small children travelling forward facing and even without a car seat at all. This is the reason why we must raise our voices, to spread the safety message about rear-facing for all children’s right to travel in the safest direction – rear-facing.
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1. Why is rear-facing safer?
As a parent, your child’s safety is your top priority. One of the most important decisions you will make is choosing the right car seat for your child. Whilst there are many options available, rear-facing car seats are the safest choice.
Why is rear facing so much safer?
Why is rear-facing better? A rear-facing car seat’s biggest advantage is the superior protection it offers to your child’s head, neck and spine in the event of a collision. The rear-facing car seat shell protects your child and distributes the crash forces over a larger area and therefore significantly reduces the forces acting upon the neck.
In the event of a collision the chances of surviving or avoiding severe injuries increases significantly if your child is travelling in a rear-facing car seat instead of a forward-facing car seat. Why rear-facing car seats are safer, is because a child’s head is disproportionate to the body and equates to approximately 25% of the total bodyweight in comparison to an adult where the head only counts for about 6% of the total bodyweight. In addition to this, a child’s neck is incredibly vulnerable as it is not fully developed. The sensitive neck in addition to the head’s weight makes it even more important to protect and support the child’s neck for as long as possible.
How much safer is rear-facing – Up to five times safer
So, how much safer is rear-facing when compared to forward-facing? Frontal crash tests show that the forces acting on the neck are up to five times greater when the child is sitting forward-facing compared to a rear-facing car seat. This means travelling in a rear-facing car seat can be up to five times safer for your child.
The dynamic movement of your child’s body is very different depending on the direction of travel in an impact. During impact, in a forward-facing car seat the body is pushed out of the car seat with only the belt keeping the body in place, but the head still wants to move forward. This results in crash forces being transferred to the child’s neck, creating enormous tension in the neck.
A rear-facing car seat’s biggest advantage is that it supports the child’s entire back, neck and head, distributing the crash forces over a larger area and therefore significantly reduces the forces imposed on the neck. Therefore, a rear-facing car seat offers your child superior protection and reduces the risk of severe injury in the event of a collision, and this is why rear facing car seats are safer.
The graph below illustrates the huge difference in neck forces that a child is exposed to in a frontal collision in a rear-facing car seat (green line) and forward-facing car seat (red line). During impact in a forward-facing seat, crash forces are being transferred to the child’s neck, creating enormous tension in the neck.
Rear-facing safety recommendations
How long can a child be in a rear facing car seat?
The general recommendations say that children should travel rear-facing up to a minimum age of 4yrs, our goal at Axkid, is that they travel rear-facing up to age of 6-7, for maximum safety.
Whilst some parents may be tempted to turn their child’s car seat forward-facing before the recommended age, it is important to understand the risks. Forward-facing car seats do not provide the same level of protection as rear-facing car seats, and children who are prematurely turned forward-facing are at greater risk of injury in the event of a crash.
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In conclusion, when it comes to your child’s safety on the road, choosing a rear-facing car seat is the safest option. Rear-facing car seats provide superior protection for your child’s head, neck, and spine in the event of a collision. By keeping your child rear-facing for as long as possible, you can help ensure that they are safe in the car and are much safer than forward-facing.
The importance of psychological matureness in car seat safety
Why you should not forward-face your child too early
Apart from the given obvious physical reasons for children’s need to travel in a rear-facing car seat and the huge safety benefits that comes with it. There are also some crucial psychological reasons to consider for your child’s safety.
Even though you think your child is a “big-boy/girl” and is old enough to travel forward facing, is your child psychologically mature for that step?
For many forward-facing car seats, the child is restrained using the vehicle’s three-point seat belt which is flexible and moves with your child’s movements. For your little one to benefit from the vehicles safety system, your child should sit very still and proper, not play with or stretch the belt, nor move from side to side or lean forward. To achieve this perfect seating position is hard, if not impossible, since we all know that children are active and sitting still is not easy, especially in a car seat that heavily depends on safety.
The safety for your child begins even before the crash, with that in mind – Let your child be a child for as long as possible and let them stay rear-faced. A rear-facing car seat, due to its simple yet robust design, will always give your child superior support and safety, even if the child’s position in the car seat might not always be perfect.
2. Real-life safety
We can make thousands of crash tests in simulations and in labs. But it is not until a real-life accident occurs that we really see the huge benefits of rear-facing safety. In this section we will share three different real-life stories with three different outcomes. But what they have in common, they all represent a real-life crash that could happen to anyone at any time.
3. The Swedish Plus Test – for highest safety
The Swedish Plus test is a voluntary additional crash test that Car seat manufactures can apply for. Following the Swedish tradition of neck protection for small children, the Swedish Plus test was launched in 2007 as a response to the lack of neck force assessment in the UN regulatory testing. The test was developed in a collaboration between Swedish safety experts and VTI (the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute).
Swedish Plus tested car seats ensure that your child is not exposed to life-threatening neck forces during a frontal collision. All rear-facing car seats in the Axkid range have passed the Swedish Plus test.
What is the Swedish Plus test
The Swedish Plus test is one of the toughest crash tests that exists today and the only test that guarantees your child is not exposed to excessive forces on the neck that can be life threatening during a frontal collision.
To be rewarded with a Plus Test marking, the car seat needs to pass an extremely tough crash test which tests the robustness and strength of the car seat. In addition to this, it must protect the neck of the crash test dummy to ensure the neck load is below a certain limit. There are three main factors that makes the Swedish Plus test extremely difficult to pass:
- Higher impact speed in comparison to the European standards.
- Very short breaking distance, which will result in the impact on the car seat to be much more violent. Shorter breaking distance means greater deceleration, which in return creates higher forces acting on the car seat and the child.
- Detailed neck measurement. To make the Plus Test even more difficult to pass, not only is a higher speed and shorter breaking distance used, but the forces exerted on the neck of the “dummy” are also
carefully measured by sensors. This means that forward-facing car seats will most likely not pass this test, since the forces applied to the neck are too high.
European standards are not enough – Swedish Plus test for highest safety
The Swedish Plus test is not a mandatory test, and it is therefore the manufacturer’s choice whether to Plus Test the car seat. At Axkid, we have Plus tested all our rear-facing car seats and the reason for that is simple.
The forces acting on the neck in the event of a collision can be the difference between life and death. The standardised European homologation test, R129 (the actual approval test of a car seat) does not consider the neck forces when approving a car seat. The Swedish Plus Test however, has tougher requirements and will measure and consider the neck forces acting upon the child during impact.
That is why it is so essential to ALWAYS choose a Plus-tested car seat.
By choosing a Plus tested car seat, not only will it guarantee that your child seat is of the highest safety, but it will also reassure you as a parent that your child travels safely in the car, protected and secure.
4. Car seat laws & safety testing
Safety testing for approval & European regulations
The homologation is the regulatory process in which the car seat receives its approval according to the latest version of the current UN R129 regulation. This testing is mandatory to be able to sell a car seat in Europe, and it aims to verify a stable base level of safety out on the market.
The R129 testing for a rear-facing car seat is an extensive testing process including many different aspects. Frontal and side impacts are performed for all car seats and the performance is evaluated. For rear-facing car seats, rear impact tests are also performed, but note that this is not mandatory for forward-facing car seats.
We receive many questions regarding what happens in a rear impact when in a rear-facing car seat. But since rear facing car seats are tested in a rear impact, you can be assured to know that your child is well protected in a rear-facing car seat. However, read more about those questions which are answered in the blog post: Rear-facing car seat in rear impact and crash testing.
Car Seat Laws in Europe
Even though the facts and safety benefits of rear-facing car seats are obvious, there are alarmingly no strict laws in Europe that regulate rear-facing car seats. However, there are regulations and general recommendations. Children within the European Union must use an appropriate child restraint up to 135cm, yet there is nothing regulating the use of rear-facing car seats.
While the facts are crystal clear, we still see small children all over Europe travelling forward-facing at an alarmingly premature age. To achieve a crucial change for child safety, the support from politicians and lawmakers is essential.
A great first step for a behavioural change is knowledge. Take advantage of the knowledge that exists and spread the word further, for the safety of our children. If you want to be aware about how the law regarding rear-facing looks like in your country, we recommend reading the article: Rearface – Back to the future.
The research is correct – rear-facing is the safest option for our children. Now, we hope that the laws will change, and then contribute to behavioural changes.
For the safety of our children.
Read about
the correct car seat type for your child
Read about
rear-facing myths
Read about
choosing the right car seat
5. The Background to Rear-Facing
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The rear-facing car seat was invented in Sweden, and it all started back in 1964 in Axkid’s hometown Gothenburg with Bertil Aldman, Professor at Chalmers University. Bertil was inspired by space travels and how astronauts were seated during launch to deal with the high forces that arise from the great acceleration. He thought that a similar approach could be used to protect children travelling in a car. In a collaboration between Volvo and Chalmers, Bertil developed and launched the first prototype of a rear-facing child car seat with the aim to ensure that children are not exposed to life-threatening neck forces in a frontal collision. Thanks to this, Sweden started using rear-facing car seats before other countries in the world and has led rear-facing safety and research for over 40 years.
Almost 60 years later in the same place, Gothenburg – Sweden, Axkid’s developers and designers are constantly working to further refine the rear-facing car seat. With roots and DNA in Swedish engineering, safety is Axkid’s top priority together with innovative solutions to extend the rear-facing travel. In combination with thousands of crash tests, we can be sure that the Swedish safety heritage is safe and that Axkid continues to deliver the safest rear-facing car seats on the market.
Swedish safety
Sweden is the safest country when it comes to protecting children in traffic, the reasons are many for example, the rear-facing child car seat, the Swedish Plus test and Vision Zero. Vision Zero’s long-term goal is that no-one should be killed or seriously injured in traffic. Together, Swedish parents, politicians, researchers and suppliers have worked hand in hand to save thousands of lives on the roads.
Developing and designing a safe rear-facing car seat takes time, because a child car seat consists of an incredible number of components, where every small part is reviewed and needs to be of the highest quality. Sweden is at the forefront when it comes to car seat safety, and far from other countries when it comes to fatalities and injuries of children in traffic. This safety work is in the DNA of Axkid, and we wish to continue to set new standards for road safety in cars and be the choice for safety-conscious parents. The word about rear-facing safety needs to spread, so that parents can make informed choices for their children based on the right premises. Without the knowledge of what is safe, how can you choose the safest option?
For you and your child’s safety, we at Axkid encourage you to choose Swedish safety.
6. Car Seat Guide
So, the conclusion is quite simple – a rear-facing car seat will provide the best support for your child, and you should therefore allow your child to remain rear-faced for as long as possible.
But what about now? How to proceed when choosing the right car seat for your child and your needs? And what should you think about when taking the car seat home for the first time?
No more questions need to be raised. Check out Axkid’s car seat guide today that answers all your uncertainties and as a friend, guide you through the car seat jungle.
It should be easy to make the right choice – with the help of our car seat guide.
Car Seat GuidePS. To help you even further with the safe choice for your child we have a vehicle list where you can see which car seats that should fit in your specific car and model.
