5 point harness vs. booster seat crash test
View the difference between a child secured in a 5 point harness car seat and a booster seat using an adult seat belt. It’s easy to see what the safer choice is. Keep children in a 5 point harness car seat for as long as possible.
Duration : 0:0:12
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
who originally …
who originally created this video?
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
THE REASON you …
THE REASON you don’t see harness seats in SWEDEN is because they rear face to 55 lbs! That’s 4, 5, 6, years old. The go straight from RF to a booster. They have seat that have HIGHER weight limits for REAR FACING than forward facing.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
There are many …
There are many seats in the USA that allow a child to remain rear facing longer. Most go to 35 lbs and even one goes to 40 lbs. They are called convertible car seats
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
I’m not sure how a …
I’m not sure how a 5 point harness would be worse for the child’s neck than a booster with a seatbelt?? In this video we can clearly see how the child in the booster seat has his head thrown a lot further down than the child in the 5 point harness behind him. 33 lbs is way too little to be wearing a seatbelt only.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
FYI: the comparison …
FYI: the comparison shot isn’t a 5 point harness- it’s a recaro start with shield…
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
You can really see …
You can really see how a child is less protected wearing a shoulder belt. The dummy’s narrower shoulder, specifically the left shoulder (closest to the camera), pops right out from under the belt upon impact. An adult’s shoulders are wider, and the bottom half of the torso would be heavier. The child’s body pops right out of the shoulder strap and the torso seems to fly right off the seat. Thanks for posting this, and my child will be in a 5-point harness for as long as I can keep him in.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
I think American …
I think American laws are too lax as well. I wish there was something that could be put out to all new parents to show them the different options available and why they should check this stuff out until the laws can be revised.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Are you sure it …
Are you sure it wouldn’t have made the child in the seatbelt only look a little worse? I have been reading about “submarining”, where a small child slips under the seatbelt. I too would like to see the same size kids. I wonder why they didn’t use them.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
I just bought my …
I just bought my friend chicco stroller travel system with the rear facing carrier seat and it holds up to 30lbs rear facing. I didn’t know that was available a few years ago. I hated putting my son into a forward facing car seat at 12 months- they are so small still. I bought him a britax frontier and he is staying in that for as long as possible.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Well, do you know …
Well, do you know that in Sweden there is hardly to find a foreward seating with 5-point harness for children over 33lbs? Why? Because the pressure on the neck is much higher with a 5-point harness than with a regular seatbealt.
And do remeber that in US you have rearfacing seats up to 35lbd, use them until the child grows out of the weightlimit! There is a big difference at children, but there is not impossible. None of my children har been weigth more than 35lbs when they passed 4 years.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Unfortunately, we …
Unfortunately, we don’t have the seats here in the U.S. that they do in Sweden. It is very rare for a child not to surpass the rear-facing weight and/or height of a U.S. carseat before age 4 (even before age 3).
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Many states in the …
Many states in the US also allow a child to be in a car seat in the front seat (some cars, like pick-up trucks or smart cars only have two front seats, and some parents have four kids needing car seats but no money for a minivan).
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
June issue of …
June issue of Parents mag “It’s 5 times safer for your 1 year old to ride facing backwards then forward, a new study has found. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation has been to keep a child in a rear-facing seat until she’s at least 1 year and 20 lbs. But in light of this new research experts now recommend that you keep your toddler’s convertible car seat facing backwards until she reaches the seat’s height and weight limits for the rear position (usually 36 inches and 30-35 lbs).”
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
People are clearly …
People are clearly missing the most important point here. Don’t turn your child around at age 12 months, it’s far from the best thing you can do! Get a rear facing/convertible car seat. Parents who use a forward facing car set for their lovely toddler unfortunately have no idea how poor safety it offers.
Do as the Swedes do. Use rear facing car seats until age 4 (most do) which shows a dramatic difference in injuries.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
I am Dutch, moved …
I am Dutch, moved from the States recently and my 3 kids (all born in the US) are luckily driving around in US car seats in the Netherlands (slighly illegal but safer!). My twins are rf (now 16 months and 26lbs) and my oldest almost 4 in a Radian harnassed seat (she was 18kg at 3 yo). Honestly, I am also appalled by Dutch car seat law. And the things I have been seeing since I got back … it’s crazy.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
YES, it IS best for …
YES, it IS best for a small child to stay in a 5 point, but the video is not a fair comparison. If the ONLY difference between the two was the seat, it would be accurate…but using two different sized children is not a fair comparison. Using two of the same sized crash dummies, one in each type of restraint, would make it a fairer comparison. I understand the message, but don’t make the point by “cheating” to make it look even worse by using a taller dummy, it discounts the message. JMHO
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
It’s MORE than a …
It’s MORE than a fair analogy…can you imagine how a SMALLER child would fare in a crash if he were just restrained by a seatbelt??? It is most certainly THE BEST OPTION to keep your child in a 5 point harness as long as possible.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
That makes no sense …
That makes no sense at all to me. In the US, it’s not law to keep them in a 5-point harness past 1 year, but it certainly is advisable to keep them in that harness for as long as possible. I have a friend in Ireland who says their laws allow the infant seat to go in the front seat of the vehicle…???
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
What I don’t get is …
What I don’t get is here in Holland the LAW is this: birth-12 mos rear only facing infant seat. If they hit 13 kg by 9 mos then they go in the next seat which is 13-18kg (9 mos to 3 yrs). This is forward facing ONLY. At 3 yrs you get a booster and use with reg seatbelt. I have tried to get seats to adapt to safer standards and have had no luck. Poor dutch babies being killed because 9 mos fwd facing.. makes me so sad!
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
It’s a Britax …
It’s a Britax Prince, it has a foam shield and a seat the child sits in
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Incorrect – the …
Incorrect – the seat next to the booster is a 5 point harness car seat.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
it’s also NOT a …
it’s also NOT a fair analogy. I mean really, the kid in the booster is like 3 feet taller than the one in the harness, but I’m supposed to believe he only moved that much because he was not harnessed?
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
This is just a …
This is just a booster video…the seat next to the booster is a foam restraint, not a harness. The Recaro foam body restraint performs as well as a harness, howevever, but is not available in the US currently.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
excellent
excellent