This paper details the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) ongoing research to evaluate and develop a potential dynamic side impact test procedure for child restraint systems (CRS). Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, “Child Restraint Systems” currently only requires that U.S. marketed child restraints meet dynamic testing simulating a 48.3 kmph (30 mph) frontal impact. NHTSA’s initial program consisted of evaluating a side impact sled buck designed by TK HOLDINGS INC. (Takata) and conducting a small number of full-scale moving deformable barrier (MDB)-to-vehicle side impact crash tests to verify the sled performance. The results from these initial tests were presented in a 2009 ESV paper by Sullivan et al. [1]. This paper presents subsequent tests and vehicle surveys conducted to determine characteristics of various components of the side impact test bucks such as the seat cushion, door panel, and an armrest that would result in improved real world representation of the side impact sled test procedure. This paper also presents the results of tests conducted with the modified side impact test buck using a variety of CRS models currently in the U.S. market.

The test procedure with the modified test buck produced repeatable results and was able to distinguish the performance of different child restraint models in side impact. The design of the side wings on child restraints for head protection and the stiffness of the child restraint padding were factors affecting the containment of the dummy and the injury measures.