Especially serious injuries during accidents get kids who sit not in children seats with safety belts unfastened.

According to the German statistic data, the children sitting on the basic seats get injured three time as often as those children who sit in children seats. It is explained by the fact that children’s neck vertebra are not very firm and are injured easily. In order to decrease such traumas in a number of countries it is prohibited to fasten children under 12 years with basic safety belts.

It is also dangerous to hold children on your laps, because at accident at 40 kmph a child weighing 5.5 kg is equal to a load of 100 kg for the person who holds it. It is preferable to sit children in special seats. Moreover, such seats must be equipped with 5-dot safety belts. Such scheme will enable the distribution of the blow on the wider surface of a child thus decreasing the possibility of getting serious injuries.
Safety belts with a preload system

The development of safety systems lead to the invention of a safety belt preload system which enables timely reaction to the accident by pulling the driver and the passengers closer to the backs of the seats thus saving from further movement forward by inertia and getting injuries from the steering-wheel, central panel and other body parts.

The additional element of the preload mechanism is a so-called load limiter. Its major purpose is to prevent thorax injuries from the load caused by the safety belt holding a body. When there is an overload the device slightly loosens the grip of the belt.

Nowadays, the passive safety systems are constantly developing and getting more complicated. Nevertheless, you have to keep in mind that only if you fasten properly you can avoid serious injuries.

How to Use Safety Belts Properly. Part I