The safety standard of various child safety systems has been the subject of extensive public discussion, as well as of various expert circles in the past few years, but it was not possible to provide an effective instrument for the evaluation of child safety systems to date.

Research work carried out at the Institute for Automotive Technoiogy (Institut fur Fahrzeugtechnik) of the Technical University, Berlin has led to the development of assessment criteria which enable the evaluation of child safety seats with various means of restraint.

The proposed assessment criteria are based on the legal groundwork for the testing of child safety seats, but they also call for further bio-mechanical information.

The safety level of four different child restraint principles was examined using several series of experimental tests based on the Uniform Conditions Concerning the Approval of Restraint Device for Child Occupants in Power-driven Vehicles (ECE-R44), but with realistic vehicle deceleration functions. Using the assessment criteria developed at the institute, a- preference scale of the level of child protection provided was formulated.

This preference scale, however, only relates to the principle of the restraint system, in form of the 3-point belt system, 4-point belt system, the impact upholstery system and the reboard system, and, to avoid the problem of competition, does not include a comparison of systems produced by various manufacturers. This study made it possible to determine the most suitable child restraint principle for children of various age groups, taking into account the kinematics and the loading of the various occupants, and thus to formulate comprehensive evaluation criteria.