What is an Energy-Absorbing Base?
An energy-absorbing base is the lower portion of most Britax child seats, which is specifically designed and engineered to divert crash force energy away from your child during a crash.
Where is the Energy-Absorbing Base located on the child seat?
The energy-absorbing area of the base is located in different places depending on the seat (see
How does the Energy-Absorbing Base work? below for more detail).
This is the rear-view of a convertible car seat base. The area indicated is where the energy absorption occurs.
This is the rear-view of the Frontier combination Harness-2-Booster seat base. The area indicated is where the energy absorption occurs.Why does the seat need an Energy-Absorbing Base?
Injuries occur when crash force energy comes in contact with your child. Energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be managed or diverted away from your child. Incorporating an energy-absorbing base into the seat allows for some of the crash force energy to be absorbed by the base instead of being passed on to your child.
How does the Energy-Absorbing Base work?
To understand how the energy-absorbing base works, you first must understand how forces are applied to the seat during a crash. During a crash the vehicle is forced to come to a stop. Even though the vehicle has come to a stop, all things in the vehicle will keep moving until they have come to a stop as well. Therefore, in a frontal impact, your child’s seat will begin to move forward, and as the child seat comes to a stop there is a vertical force that is applied to it.
Some of those forces are applied to the base of the seat and are then diverted away from your child. Depending on the product, there are a couple of different ways that the base absorbs the crash force energy.
Convertible Base Design:
In the base of Britax convertible child seats there is a bar or axel rod that is specifically designed to bend as the vertical crash forces are applied to the seat. In this case, the energy that it takes to bend the bar is being applied to the base and the bar instead of your child. The fact that the base will become deformed is okay. We design the base to deform during crashes because as long as it is controlled then that means that the energy it takes to deform the base is not being applied to your child.
This is a close up image of the bar that is in the convertible car seat bases. This seat has not been in a crash.
Here is a close up of the bar in a convertible car seat base that has been in a crash.
Combination Harness-2-Booster Base Design:
The base of the Britax Frontier combination Harness-2-Booster seat is also designed to absorb crash force energy, but in a different way. When the Frontier Harness-2-Booster seat is used in the harness mode, the recline block must be in the forward position. This allows for:
- your child to be properly positioned, and
- an area of the seat base that is meant to crush during a crash to be exposed.
Again, the energy it takes to crush the base is being applied to the base instead of your child.
When the Frontier Harness-2-Booster seat is used in booster mode, the recline block must be in the rear position. This allows for:
- your child to sit more upright and keep the vehicle seat belts properly positioned, and
- the base to absorb the crash forces applied by a heavier child.
How long has Britax incorporated an Energy-Absorbing base in their seats?
We have been incorporating the energy-absorbing base in our convertible car seats since 2006. The combination Harness-2-Booster energy-absorbing base has been incorporated in our seats since they were first launched in 2008.
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