Types of Seatbelts
In recent years seat-belts have become integrated into overall vehicle safety systems that include such devices as pretensioners, load limiters and airbags.
The three-point lap and diagonal seat-belt is the safest and most commonly used in cars, vans, minibuses, trucks and the driver’s seat of buses and coaches, while the two-point lap belt is most commonly used in buses and coaches.Crash studies have shown that although the lap belt does fulfil the task of reducing ejection, it fails to prevent the occupant’s head and upper body moving forward and hitting the vehicle interior. For the driver, this could result in serious head injuries from contact with the steering wheel. However, because of the size and mass of coaches, the severity of injury when involved in a collision with another vehicle is often minor compared to that other vehicle if it is a car or van.
Infants and children need a child restraint system that accommodates their size and weight, and can adapt to cope with the different stages of their development. The three-point lap and diagonal seat-belt used by adults is not designed for children’s varying sizes, weights, and the different relative proportions of children’s bodies. For example, a smaller portion of a child’s abdomen is covered by the pelvis and rib cage, while a child’s ribs are more likely than an adult’s to bend rather than break, resulting in energy from a collision being transferred to the heart and lungs. Consequently three-point lap and diagonal seat-belts may lead to abdominal injuries among children, and will not be optimally effective at preventing ejection and injury among them.
Appropriate child restraint systems are specifically designed to protect infants and young children from injury during a collision or a sudden stop by restraining their movement away from the vehicle structure and distributing the forces of a crash over the strongest parts of the body, with minimum damage to the soft tissues. Child restraints are also effective in reducing injuries that can occur during non-crash events, such as a sudden stop, a swerving evasive manoeuvre or a door opening during vehicle movement.
The safest place for children aged 12 years and under is in the back seat, properly restrained in an approved child safety seat. Specially manufactured child restraints should be used for children.
