Anthropometric data of the 3 and 6 year−old child regarding the position of the safety belt

This anthropological study intends to describe first the morphological characteristics of 3 and 6 years old children, and then to evaluate the safety belt position regarding the children seated in a car with different Child Restraint System (CRS). This work is based on a measurement survey which allowed to acquire anthropometric data in two approaches: somatologic data, including dimensions in standing and sitting positions (14 measurements) biometric data on the same subjects seated in a car with different restraint systems (15 measurements) The survey was conducted in a school located in the northern part of France, after obtaining compulsory authorizations from the relevant authorities. 71 children have been measured (33 three year-old and 38 six yearold). The car used for the survey is a Peugeot 308 and the backseat has been measured. The two CRSs which have been used and measured are: a child seat (CRS1) which belongs to the European standard group 1 (children weight between 9 to 18 kg) and a booster which belongs to the groups 2 and 3 (15 to 36 kg). Children of 3 years old have been measured in the CRS1 and CRS2. Those of 6 years old have been measured in the CRS2 and without CRS. Standard anthropometric tools have been used: height gauge, sliding calipers, tape measure, scales. For each age, the main percentile values of all dimensions of the children morphology have been provided. Several measurements of the belt position regarding morphological anatomical points of the child in the car with the different Child Restraint Systems (CRSs) have been performed. This allows to check the suitability of the belt regarding the morphology of the child in a restraint system. The European mass classification appears as not relevant for 75% of the 3 year-old because they can be both in CRS1 and CRS2 according to their weight. The 95th percentile of the 3 year-old appears to be out of the limit and can only be in the booster seat. As for the 6 year-old, if all the children fit in the booster seat according to their weight, children between the 5th and the 25th percentile could also be placed in a child seat. This work has been performed within the European Project CASPER "Child Advanced Safety Project for European Roads" co-funded by the EC under the 7th Framework Program (http://www.casper-project.eu).

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