What is Side Impact Protection?
Side Impact Protection is a system that provides protection to your child during a side impact crash.
Where is Side Impact Protection located on the car seat?
Since Side Impact Protection is a system, it is a combination of the rigid shell, including the deep side walls, along with the energy-absorbing foam that lines the shell.
Seats that feature Side Impact Protection have the patch above on their head restraints.
Why does the seat need Side Impact Protection?
Side impact crashes pose a serious threat to child safety and therefore make side impact protection a necessity for child seats. In fact:
- 1 in 4 crashes occur from the side
- Injuries are more severe in side impact crashes
- 30% of fatalities are a result of side impact crashes
- Vehicle side air curtains are designed to protect adults, not children
Source: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
It’s also important to understand how a child is injured in a side impact crash to understand how Side Impact Protection can prevent injury to your child. A child could possibly be injured by:
- The lack of a “crumple zone” between your child and the vehicle door resulting in direct impact of the oncoming vehicle.
- Contact with any intruding objects such as the car door, glass, metal shards, etc.
- Acceleration of the body as the car comes to a sudden halt; a quick change in speed is what causes injury to the body.
How does Side Impact Protection work?
During a side impact crash both your child’s head and chest are extremely vulnerable to injury. The chest is more exposed because your child’s shoulders are wider than their head, and therefore likely to be the first point of contact with intruding objects coming from the side and jolting the chest. Your child’s head should always be protected to avoid serious and permanent injury.
Side Impact Protection utilizes the rigid seat shell, lined with energy-absorbing foam, to keep your child’s head and chest protected from the side impact crash forces. More specifically, Side Impact Protection does three things:
- Distributes crash forces:
Crash force energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be managed or diverted away from your child. The combination of deep side walls and energy-managing foam allow for a larger surface area to divert crash force energy away from your child during impact.
- Shields the child from vehicle intrusion:
Again, during a side impact crash, your child could possibly be injured because of the lack of a crumple zone and/or coming into contact with any intruding objects. The seat’s deep side walls create a barrier between your child and any possible intruding objects.
- Contains the head and body:
A side impact crash does not necessarily result in another vehicle making direct contact with your child, however you still want to keep your child from “rolling” out of the seat and making contact with the vehicle door or window. Here, Side Impact Protection helps to contain your child’s head and body in the seat.
How long has Britax incorporated Side Impact Protection in their seats?
At Britax, we have been incorporating Side Impact Protection in many of our seats since we first began to serve the North American market in 1996.
<-- Back to Superior Energy Management