Every second child restraint system incorrectly adjusted
Published: Tuesday, Feb 27th 2024, 10:20
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Every second child restraint system is incorrectly adjusted. In every third case, the incorrect setting is serious. The errors range from incorrect securing to an unsuitable system. Children between the ages of seven and twelve are particularly frequently affected.
For children of this age, the restraint system faults were serious in 48 percent of cases. The proportion of serious defects in children up to the age of six was 26 percent.
The main reason for the difference is the incorrect height adjustment of the seat for older children. These are the findings of a study published on Tuesday by the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) and the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU).
Overall, serious defects in the child restraint system were found in 31 percent of cases. In 20 percent of cases, the defects were moderate. 49 percent of the vehicles examined had correctly applied systems.
The most common defect was the adjustment of the seat belt when raising a child seat without a backrest. In the majority of defect cases, the belt routing was incorrect, the belts were incorrectly positioned at shoulder height or the belts were twisted.
The data for the study was collected by TCS and BFU in July 2023 at eight locations in German- and French-speaking Switzerland. They surveyed 672 drivers of passenger cars. This provided data for 982 children secured by restraint systems. Child restraint systems are mandatory for children under the age of twelve and less than 1.50 meters tall.
©Keystone/SDA
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