Correct Use of Child Restraints

Rearward Facing Infant Seat

• The harness must be adjusted every time the child uses the car seat. This is because clothing makes a difference to the fit of the harness. If the car seat harness is not tightened properly, the child will move forward or sideways in an impact, further than they should and could hit the vehicle structure.
• Always use the complete harness. If the harness is placed under the child's arms the upper part of the child is not effectively restrained and this may allow the child to slide out of the seat. With partial ejection of the child there is a high risk of head injury and if the child leaves the restraint completely the injuries are unpredictable and likely to be very serious.
• Always install the car seat facing the correct direction. If the car seat is installed facing forwards when it is designed to face rearwards the car seat cannot protect the child properly as it is not designed to work this way. The shell could break and the loading to the child will not be managed, resulting in serious injuries.
• Make sure that the correct adult belt routing has been used. If the car seat is installed in such a way that the lap belt is in the slots for the diagonal belt and the diagonal seat belt is in the slots for the lap belt, then the car seat is likely to flip during a front impact and fall off the seat. This will most likely result in serious head injuries to the child.
• If the car seat is installed using only the lap belt routing, when it has been designed to be installed with the lap and diagonal belt, there will be nothing supporting the part of the car seat that the child rests against. In a frontal impact the child is unlikely to get the support it needs from the car seat, with a high possibility of hitting their head on the vehicle interior.
• If an ISOFix attached car seat is installed without the support leg in contact with the floor, it may hit the floor in a crash causing high loads and possibly injury to the child.

Forward Facing Toddler Seat

• The harness must be adjusted every time the child uses the car seat. If the car seat harness is not tightened properly, the child will move forward or sideways in an impact further than they should and could hit the vehicle structure.
• If the harness is very loose or the harness height is not correct for the child, then the child could be partially ejected and this can cause serious internal injuries.
• Always use the correct slots and clips for the adult belt. If the adult seat belt used to attach the car seat to the vehicle is not pulled tight around the car seat, or the clips that lock the adult belt in place around the car seat are not used, or if the wrong clips are used, then the car seat may move around too much in an accident and the child and particularly their head, may hit the vehicle interior, and this is likely to cause injury.
• If the adult seat belt is placed around the front of the car seat, when it is supposed to thread through the back, the car seat will not be attached to the vehicle. The car seat is likely to move under the lap belt in an accident and the full weight of the car seat will load the child into the lap portion of the adult belt, causing serious injuries to the child.

Booster Seat

• Always check that the adult belt is not twisted. If the adult belt is twisted across the child's body the belt cannot distribute the loads ideally across the chest. This can lead to the chest being loaded in a single spot, which could result in broken ribs or internal injuries.
• After buckling up the adult belt, make sure it is pulled tight around the child. If the adult belt is not pulled tightly around the child this could lead to the child moving around more in an accident, and the child, in particular their head, may hit the vehicle interior, and this is likely to cause injury.
• The lap belt must be positioned tightly high across the top of the child's legs, away from the tummy. If the lap belt is too slack or in the wrong place it may slip over the hips and this can lead to serious and permanent injuries.

Booster Cushion

• The protection from these cushions is limited to guiding the lap part of the adult belt. The lap belt must be positioned tightly, high across the top of the child's legs, away from the tummy. If the lap belt is too slack or in the wrong place it may slip over the hips and this can lead to serious and permanent injuries. 

National Database for Child Restraint Use

There have been many "fit and use" child seat check clinics held throughout the UK by road safety professionals and our own Child Safety Centre staff. These clinics provide advice to parents and carers on the choice of child seat relating to the child's development, the compatibility of retraint with the vehicle, the method of attaching the restraint to the vehicle and the method of installing the child in the restraint. 

During 2010 TRL began coordinating the collection and analysis of the information gathered from the child seat clinics and have set up a national database for child restraint use throughout the UK. A paper on this topic was presented at the "9th Protection of Children in Cars International Conference" held in Munich in December 2011. Click here to view a copy.