ISOFIX Child Seats: what it means to Oz

Finally, parents and carers can seat their young passengers in ISOFIX-approved accommodation but will it affect ANCAP safety ratings?

The long-awaited approval of the ISOFIX anchorage system for child seats allows the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) to provide test results on child occupant safety, but the team has no immediate plans to provide ratings.

By contrast, Euro NCAP publishes adult and child occupant ratings, in addition to rear-impact (for whiplash) and newly-enforced pedestrian safety tests which can significantly affect results. The Jeep Compass, for example, was awarded four stars by ANCAP while ENCAP gave it just two.

According to ANCAP spokespersons, the outfit uses crash-test dummies representing an infant and child however the "dummies are so crude that the results are meaningless". The distance the dummy's head moves forward after impact is the only helpful result.

Formerly ANCAP has argued the lack of conformity among types of child car seats in Australia has prevented provision of a "child occupant rating like the one published by Euro NCAP". Recently the Gillard government approved the ISOFIX system for child seating in cars, for implementation by 2013, ending several years' deliberation over the subject. ISOFIX has been endorsed throughout Europe and North America (called LATCH) since 2002.

"We're certainly looking [at conducting our own tests] but there's a whole range of things that go beyond just the performance in the crash test," ANCAP spokesman Michael Paine told motoring.com.au.

Mr Paine said his team was required to look for a method suitable for Australian motorists and passengers. European manufacturers of vehicles and child seats have incorporated ISOFIX since the 1990s whereas Australian standards for the past 30 years approve a top-tether arrangement using the vehicle's existing seatbelts. EuroNCAP's results on child protection safety are therefore irrelevant in reference to Australian passengers.

The approval of ISOFIX seating is "a desirable improvement" for child safety, said Paine. But focus on proper installation of current ADR-approved child seats using adult seat belts needs to be maintained "because there are so many cars out there without ISOFIX", Paine reasoned. The majority of ISOFIX-equipped new cars come from European manufacturers.

"There are some advantages to ISOFIX but our research tells us it's not that great, and the system we've had for child restraints in Australia is actually extremely effective," said Paine.

Arguments against the top-tether system include incorrect installation, however Paine says his team has evidence the ISOFIX-enhanced seats also throw up confusion. "It's not as easy to use as first envisaged."

With the top-tether arrangement, he says, "it is obvious to see and it does so much to improve the performance of the child restraint. The push for ISOFIX validation in Australia has largely come from various child seat and vehicle manufacturers.

"The point is to have a child restraint securely attached to the vehicle. The more closely it's tied to the vehicle the better the occupants' chances of survival in a crash, and there's different ways to do this," said Paine.

"Really it's a matter of consistency in testing. Europe has a certain way of testing and these days it's using ISOFIX, and Australia has a different way (the top-tether set up)... Provided all parents [and carers] know how they work, that's the most important outcome for everyone," he suggested.

"There are also situations where you might have to put the same seat in a different vehicle or even different types of child restraints in the same vehicle... If they all work in a similar way it's a huge advantage to help prevent misuse."

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