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Articles > About Car Seat Safety Standards in New Zealand
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About Car Seat Safety Standards in New ZealandCarseat Safety Standards in New ZealandThere are currently no carseats made in New Zealand. We therefore have to import 100% of our carseats, including baby capsules and child booster seats. As we import 100% of our carseats they come with different sets of safety standards depending on the country that they were manufactured for, and where they were tested. The three most common types of carseat safety standards used in New Zealand are the Australian Standard AS/NZS 1754, the European Standard UK ECE R44/04, and the American Standard FMVSS 213. If you would like to view our range of certified carseats please follow the link Baby Stuff Carseats Australian Standard AS/NZS 1754 The Australian standard sticker is easily recognised by the SAI Global red sticker with the 5 ticks. This standards mark is licensed to companies and products that have met the rigorous requirements of management systems or product Standards required by SAI Global.Key Requirements of Australian Standard AS/NZS 1754The requirements noted below are key requirements only. This information is intended to assist our customers when making the choice of which baby capsule, carseat, or booster seat they may like to purchase. Manufactures must not rely on this information as a complete guide to compliance. Design and constructionHarnesses and straps
Covers Covers and liners must be included in the restraint to:
Components—other
Durability Components must be durable enough to resist regular wear.
Performance testing of Australian Standard AS/NZS 1754Suppliers should have a wide-ranging, dynamic testing method in place that includes these simulated impacts: frontal side rear Inverted. Infant crash test dummies must be specially developed—they must meet certain requirements that make them especially flexible. Infant crash test dummies from overseas generally don’t meet these requirements. The harness adjustment must be tested for easy use. If you would like to view our range of certified carseats please follow the link Baby Stuff Carseats European Standard ECE R44.04 The European Safety Standards are also very commonly found in New Zealand. They can be recognised by the yellow safety sticker pictured on the left. The sticker can usually be found on the back of the carseat in a protected area to avoid the sticker rubbing off. There is an older version (pre 2005) of the European Standard called ECE R44.03. This was replaced by ECE R44/04 in 2005 and carseat manufactures had until June 2006 to comply with the changes. There should me very little of these seats left but something that you should be aware of.How to read the sticker 1. Indicates for which category the child seat has been approved. 2. Indicates for which Group by weight the seat is approved. 3. "Y" shows that this child seat has a 5-point harness system with crotch strap 4. European Approval indicator 5. Indicates the country in which the approval was obtained (1=Germany, 2=France, 3=Italy, 4=the Netherlands etc.) 6. Approval number. The first two numbers show to which version ECE R 44 the child seat has been approved in this case ECE R 44/04. 7. Is the ‘control’ number allocated to a specific seat. Main Design Requirements of European Standard ECE R44/04The child restraint must provide protection in any position in which it is designed to be used. It must be designed to be secured to the vehicle structure or to the seat structure, either by the adult seat belt or specific anchorages. Seat Belt Routes If a restraint is to be used with an adult seat belt, the correct routing of the seat belt webbing must be clearly indicated by a drawing permanently attached to the restraint. If the restraint is held in place by the seat belt, the route(s) of the webbing must clearly marked and colour coded red for forward-facing seats and blue for rearward facing ones. Restraints in Groups I, 2 and 3, must positively guide the "lap strap" to ensure that the loads transmitted by the "lap strap" are transmitted through the pelvis. To prevent submarining (slipping under the harness), either by impact or through restlessness, a crotch strap is required on all forward-facing Group I restraints which incorporate an integral harness. The Buckle The buckle must be easy to operate and it must be possible to open it and release the child from the restraint by a single operation on a button or similar device. Opening the buckle must enable the child to be removed independently of the "chair", "chair support" or "impact shield", if fitted, and if the restraint includes a crotch strap, the crotch strap must be released by operation of the same buckle. It must not be possible for the buckle to be left in a partially closed position and it must only lock when all parts are engaged. The operation of the buckle must be immediately obvious to a rescuer in an emergency. The buckle release area must be red, but no other part of the buckle should be this colour. For Group 2 and 3 child restraints, the child occupant must be able to reach the buckle. Child's Position Restraints in Groups 0, 0+ and I restraint systems must keep the child positioned to give the required protection even when the child is asleep. The design of rear-facing restraints must ensure that support for the child's head is provided. Main Performance Tests of European Standard ECE R44/04Child restraints must pass a series of performance tests: Impact Tests Frontal Impact The child restraint is fitted onto a vehicle or a test trolley in a vehicle body. Test dummies of various sizes (appropriate to the child restraint) are fitted into the restraint. This is then accelerated at 50 km/h towards a block of reinforced concrete weighing at least 70 tonnes. Rear Impact A rigid steel impactor at least 2,500 mm wide and 800 mm high is accelerated towards the rear of the 'vehicle' so that it strikes the 'vehicle' at between 30 and 32 km/h. During the tests, the test dummy must not be thrown forward more than a set distance and it must not receive an impact force above a specified level. No part of the child restraint that helps to keep the child in position shall break, and no buckles or locking system shall release. The seat belt must not become disengaged from any guide or locking device. Overturning A test dummy is strapped into the restraint according to the manufacturer's instructions. The restraint is fastened to a test or vehicle seat, which is rotated through an angle of 360 degrees at a speed of 2-5 degrees/second. When the seat is upside down, the dummy's head must not move more than 300 mm from its original position in a vertical direction relative to the test seat. Buckle The buckle is opened and closed 5,000 times, and must still operate properly after the impact tests described above. Markings The restraint must be clearly and indelibly marked with:
Rearward facing child restraints must have a permanently attached label, visible in the installed position, with the warning: "EXTREME HAZARD - Do not use in passenger seats equipped with airbags". Child restraints that can be used forward and rearward facing, must have a warning including the words: "IMPORTANT - DO NOT USE FORWARD FACING BEFORE THE CHILD'S WEIGHT EXCEEDS xx (Refer to instructions)" If you would like to view our range of certified carseats please follow the link Baby Stuff Carseats American Standard FMVSS 213 The American Standard FMVSS 213, must, in addition to any other markings, display the New Zealand Standard 'S' mark, to show they have been certified for use in New Zealand.It is very hard to find quality information about the American Standard FMVSS 213. We understand that the main or possibly the only testing required to meet this standard is for a frontal impact. Frontal Impact (Dynamic Crash Tests) As required by FMVSS 213, car seats must meet certain specifications when subjected to frontal impact sled tests simulating crashes at 30 mph. FMVSS 213 requires a standardized seat assembly, which is representative of a vehicle seat, and anthropomorphic testing devices (ATDs or child crash-test dummies). ATDs representing children of various sizes are used. The test results help engineers to establish compliance with the performance requirements as per the FMVSS 213 regulation. The performance of the prototype seats is evaluated using two criteria:
Side Impact Testing Currently, the US does not have federal regulatory standards for testing car seats for side-impact protection. Follow this link to get a 44 page account of what is required of FMVSS 213. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/octqtr/pdf/49cfr571.213.pdf If you would like to view our range of certified carseats please follow the link Baby Stuff Carseats Legal StuffWhile we have taken every endeavour to ensure that the information provided is correct, there may be changes to carseat standards overseas that we are unaware of. This is provided as a guide to which standards can and cannot be used in New Zealand, and a bit of information on what goes into the testing. It is only a summary of the standards and in no way covers all the testing and requirements. We have intentionally left out some of the more boring stuff like what is required to be in instructions etc to make your reading and understanding of the standards easier and more enjoyable. Manufactures should not rely on this but should instead purchase the standards from an appropriate supplier. We would like to thank the following sites for their information Britaxusa.com New Zealand Transport Agency NZ Child Restraints Product Safety Australia |
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