Under Swedish law, all occupants of a vehicle equipped with safety belts must use a place that is equipped with a safety belt, if such a place is available, and also use the safety belt. Children shorter than 135 centimetres must use a child safety seat, booster cushion or other child restraint system instead of, or in conjunction with, the safety belt. In Sweden it is also recommended that children should travel rearward facing until they are about four years old or as long as it is possible. Thereafter they should use a booster seat or booster cushion up to 10—12 years of age. Swedish recommendations also state that children who are shorter than 140 centi¬metres should not sit in a place that is equipped with a non-disabled passenger airbag. According to law, children are not allowed to be seated rearward facing in the passenger seat if there is a functioning airbag. The National Society for Road Safety, NTF, has accomplished an observational survey comprising 5,000 children aged 0—10 years. The children were observed at 347 pre-schools in totally 70 of Sweden’s 290 municipalities. The aim of the study was to follow up Swedish laws and recommendations about how children are secured when travelling in car. The most important results in terms of law show that: • 95 per cent of the children were belted, either in the safety belt or in the protective belt. • 90 per cent of the children aged 0—6 years, did use some sort of special child restraint systems when travelling in a car. Among the 1—4 year-olds though, 8 per cent were seated directly on the car seat and among the 5—6 year-olds it was 12 per cent. Furthermore, 22 children aged 1—4 years, were seated in someone’s knee, of whom 3 in the driver’s knee. • 5 children aged 1—3 years, out of 510 observed in the front passenger seat, were placed in rearward facing child restraint system where the airbag was non-disabled. This is illegal and dangerous in a crash where the airbag is activated. The most important results in terms of recommendations show that: • some children were seated forward facing earlier than stated in Swedish recommendations; 6 per cent of the 1-year-olds were travelling forward facing, 20 per cent of the 2-year-olds, 60 per cent of the 3-year-olds and 93 per cent of the 4-year-old children. • about 30 per cent of the 7—10 year-olds were placed directly on the car seat instead of sitting in a booster seat or booster cushion. • 15 per cent of the children sat in front of an active airbag; 11 per cent of the children aged 1—4-years , 22 per cent of the children aged 5—6 years and 20 per cent of the children aged 7—10 years. The safety belt was best placed on the youngest children and the children who were travelling in rearward facing child restraints. It was 91 per cent of the children in infant seats and 87 per cent of the children in rearward facing child restraints that had the safety belt placed in good manner. The safety belt was well placed on about 80 per cent of the children who were travelling forward facing in child restraints, booster seats or booster cushions. The safety belt was not adjusted in a good way on more than half of the children who were placed directly on the car seat; the safety belt was too slack, not adjusted towards the hip or placed under the child’s arm. In terms of installation of the child restraint system, no comprehensive misuse could be seen. The things checked were anchorage, assemblage of the seat belt or placing at the right distance to the dashboard or the front seat. Finally it can be concluded that male drivers, to higher extent than female drivers, did not follow the Swedish law or the recommendations regarding how children should travel in car. (Author/publisher) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://www.vti.se/EPiBrowser/Publikationer%20-%20English/R716Eng.pdf
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