Regular readers will know that we have always had Britax car seats long before becoming Ambassadors for them and have always been huge fans of their products and the work they do.
The reason my big girls have high back booster seat cushions rather than regular booster ones, is because of shocking video footage that is released each year like this one:
Its scary isn’t it? and in my eyes just not worth the risk.
Following the success of the previous two campaigns, Britax are back again this Summer, and hoping to save lives by urging parent to bin the widely used booster cushions and replace with high backed booster seats.
While the current law requires children to travel in a car seat until they are 135cm tall, Britax believes there is still a lack of understanding around safety in Group 2-3, which protects children from four to around 12 years of age. At this stage many parents opt for a simple booster cushion to help lift their child and ensure the vehicle seat belt sits correctly on the bony parts of their bodies. However, Britax found that approximately half (49%) of seat belts used to secure child seats may be fitted incorrectly*. They are often twisted, too high, or fitted around the seat and not the child. On top of misfittings, these booster cushions also offer no head or side impact protection for children.
To get parents’ full attention and highlight the true danger of booster cushions, Britax has released some alarming footage filmed at their crash test centre in Andover. It captures the safety performance of a booster cushion vs a highback booster seat in the event of a frontal collision. The footage sees the child sized dummy in the booster cushion instantly thrown forward upon impact. Viewers are able to witness from a range of angles that the upper belt is kept in place on the highback booster thanks to the upper belt guide, whereas the dummy on the booster cushion frees itself from the upper belt. Even in this frontal collision, the dummy in the booster cushion is flung towards the side of the car, dangerously hitting its head on the side of the vehicle at speed, as opposed to the highback booster, which sees the dummy stay more supported with head and upper body containment thanks to its side wings and headrest.
We are hoping to review two new ones for Rosie and Poppy this year so watch this space.
For more information on Britax’s range of Group 2-3 seats, visit http://www.britax.co.uk
Karen x
Loving life with little ones
July 27, 2015 at 7:14 pm (9 years ago)We too use Britax car seats and will only use a high backed booster for our 5 year old, our 3 year old is safely contained in her 5 point harness for now but I wish they made seats that use a 5 point harness for longer.