A revised seat can be kept facing rearward until the child is about four years old, depending on weight.

Volvo Car Corporation is adding three new child restraints to its approved accessories that it says are comfortable and easy to use. The trouble is Volvo owners in the U.S. won’t be able  to buy them because a rule by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration bans the sale of car specific seats.  Volvo has asked NHTSA to modify the rule, but so far only Europeans and Asians will be able to use them. Whether this results in a mini black market where parents bring the seats back from overseas is an interesting  question.

Particularly noteworthy in the new, three seat lineup is a revised rearward facing seat can be used for children up to six years of age, and can be kept facing rearward until the child is about four years old, depending on weight — longer than before. Since rearward facing seats are potentially safer for small children, this might be a safety breakthrough. 

A child’s neck is structural weak, compared to the weight of the head, and it is still growing. When travelling facing backwards, incoming collision forces are spread across the back and head, thus reducing the load on the neck in a frontal impact, which is the most common and often the most dangerous type of collision. For older children, it is important to continue to use a child restraint in the form of a booster seat. The booster seat protects the child’s under-developed hips and the soft abdomen by positioning the belt correctly across the thighs. 

“With our new rearward facing child restraints, children can travel rearward facing far longer than before, something that may save many lives,” says Jessika Andréasson, Product Manager at Volvo Cars. 

The Volvo branded child restraints will be available in Europe and Asia from authorized Volvo Car dealers during the summer of 2009. Anyone who travels with children in their cars is welcome to try the new child restraints, says Volvo. Dealers will offer instructions on how the child restraints should be fitted and how the children should be properly secured. 

“International accident surveys show that one of the most common causes of child injuries or fatalities in traffic is that the child restraint is not properly fitted or the child is not properly secured in the seat,” says Helena Larsson, Design Engineer at Volvo Cars. 

The child restraints are supplied with all the necessary fittings, such as snap hooks and other attachments, to permit easier installation, as well as instructions on how each particular child restraint should be fitted. 

Volvo Cars developed the seats with Britax Römer, a respected maker of child safety equipment.

“Our cooperation is a perfect synthesis whereby the manufacturer provides the expertise in the design of attractive and comfortable child seats, and we add our know-how on safety for children in cars,” explains Jessika Andréasson.

“We have tested the child seats’ moving parts and their mechanical properties. We have also crash tested them to verify that they meet Volvo Cars’ high safety demands,” says Helena Larsson. 

All the fabrics used have been approved according to Oeko-Tex Standard 100, which guarantees that they are free from specified allergy-forming substances. All the covers are removable and can be machine-washed. 

Here’s the lineup of the new seats:

Comfortable infant seat

The convertible child seat can be used longer than before, from nine months until about six years old.

The infant seat has a handle and is easy to carry to and from the car. It can be used from birth until about one year weighing up to 13 kg or just under 30 pounds. It has deep, softly padded side wings, offering protection in side impacts. The headrest is adjustable in seven heights and the belt adopts automatically to fit the height of the child’s shoulders. The child is secured using a five-point safety harness that is adjusted in the centre. The infant seat is fitted using Isofix attachments or the regular safety belt.

Convertible child seat — rearward facing

The convertible child seat can be used longer than before, from nine months until the child is about six years old, which is potentially a significant increase in safety for children in cars. The convertible child seat is comfortable to sit in and to sleep in. The side wings are deep and adjustable, offering what Volvo says is particularly good protection in side impacts. A center belt adjustment means it is easy to configure for children of different sizes. The car’s safety belt is used to secure the seat, which has a support leg to adjust for the cushion angle of the passenger seat. 

The child seat can be fitted facing forward when a child weighs at least 15 kg and has outgrown the rearward facing setting. It then converts into a comfortable booster seat with backrest, and both child and seat are secured with the car’s integrated safety belt. Volvo Cars recommends that children travel rearward facing until at least the age of three, preferably four years or older. 

Clever booster seat with backrest

For childrenbetween about four and ten, there is a booster seat that ensures correct positioning of the safety belt across the child's thighs and shoulder.

For children aged between about four and ten, there is a practical booster seat with backrest that ensures correct positioning of the car’s safety belt across the child’s thighs and shoulder. The booster seat and child are secured facing forward using the car’s integrated safety belt.

The booster seat is comfortable to sit on and the deep, softly padded side wings provide maximum comfort also when the child is asleep. The headrest is adjustable and grows with the child, offering no less than eleven height settings. The booster seat’s width can be adjusted to one of three settings, allowing the child to continue to sit comfortably as he or she grows.