Since becoming a brand ambassador for Britax I have had my eyes opened so wide! Through some of the campaigns I have been involved with it has made me very aware of the importance of a properly fitted car seat and also how many misinformed parents there are out there!
This summer Britax are bringing back their Bin The Booster campaign and I am so glad to be able to bring it to your attention. I have always thought the natural progression from a car seat would be a booster but after watching this video I will not be rushing out to get one any time soon!
This compares a booster cushion to a highback booster seat in the event of a frontal collision.
You can see 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.
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.
Booster cushions are still sold because it is not required by current EU safety standards to conduct tests for side collisions on Group 2-3 seats. However, Britax only sells and recommends highback boosters and I for one will be looking for a highback seat when it comes to Little G needing an upgrade in the next month or so.
Will you bin the booster?
Jon
Wednesday 12th of August 2015
Katy ... mifold is neither unsafe nor unstable. It's designed to conform to the most universally accepted global booster car seat regulations: European Union ECE R44.4; FMVSS 213 in the United States, and the RSSR regulations in Canada. Prototypes that are representative of the final design have already been crash tested multiple times in testing facilities around the world (UTAC in France, Calspan in the USA and TRL in the UK), and successfully complied with the performance requirements of all these regulations. These test results indicate that the production version will meet the required regulatory standards.
mifold is creating a whole new solution. There are many journeys where children do not have a booster (it is estimate as much as 25% of all child journeys). We want to eliminate these completely. With a compact and portable device, a child can always be safe no matter whose car they are in.
This campaign by Britax has one guarantee ... it will increase the number of journeys where a suitable safety seat is not available.
This is where we step in ... we are passionate about the safety of children in cars and I think that providing safety where it is currently missing is worthwhile and nothing to be ashamed of.
(I'd be delighted to engage with you offline ... my email address was entered in order to comment)
Jon Sumroy
Tuesday 11th of August 2015
What is Britax’s ulterior motive? Britax have sold exactly this type of backless booster for decades. And thanks to them, the number of childhood deaths and injuries has reduced significantly.
Now they are telling us to bin them! Is this a big corporation wanting us all to buy bigger, more complex, more inconvenient and more expensive new products?
The video is Britax’s own test in their own facility. I’ve seen hundreds of truly independent crash test videos with backless boosters where the child is restrained properly; they are not scary like this. Are we sure Britax did not set this up to look bad?
Boosters are inexpensive, practical and simple products designed to provide convenient and straight forward installation. They ensure good vehicle seat belt positioning onto the child and are designed to conform to the most universally accepted global car seat regulations; including the UK.
There are other products on the market that offer different features that may exceed the statutory standards; I have used them with my own children. But this does not mean that backless boosters, which have been the mainstay of child car safety for 40-years, are suddenly dangerous and should be binned.
Shame on you Britax!
Full disclosure: I invented mifold, the most advanced, compact and portable booster seat in the world. It’s more than 10x smaller than a regular booster seat and it’s just as safe … check it out on http://www.mifold.com
Katy
Wednesday 12th of August 2015
Thank you for your comment. I have seen your mifold booster and I have to say - shame on you for inventing such an unsafe unstable looking item. Just because booster cushions have been around for 40 years does not mean they are safe. People didn't even use seat belts a few decades ago- people become more aware and create safer alternatives- THAT is Britax's uliterior motive.
Su
Sunday 2nd of August 2015
I had no idea! Thank you for sharing. We've got a second hand booster seat last year for Ethan so that he would past on his car seat to Evelyn. But he refused to sit on it. He said that it is his car seat. And quite rightly so. Gosh! I am so glad he refused to sit on it after reading this article and watching the vdo. So scary! I will be binning the booster seat for sure now! xx Kidscorner
Katy
Monday 3rd of August 2015
So glad to have made a difference Su! x
MudpieFridays
Thursday 30th of July 2015
Thank you for this - Monkey is just about due an upgrade so I will be looking at these!! #KidsCorner xx
Katy
Monday 3rd of August 2015
The Evolva is a great one! x
Lisa (Mummascribbles)
Wednesday 29th of July 2015
I have been sharing this all over Facebook! It is so important and I was hoping my sister in law would read it and take the hint! She has two kids in a booster seat and one in a forward facing at just 8 months old. Shocking. Zach will be staying in a high back for years! Thanks for hosting #kidscorner
Katy
Monday 3rd of August 2015
Thank you so much for spreading the message Lisa xxx