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protection system for the older child passenger consisting of a specially designed cushion has heen allocated to 50 families. The parents completed a questionnaire and were interviewed following 3 months' and OM year's use of the seats concerning their safety, comfort and handling qualities. These results are discussed as well as suggestions to manufacturers concerning the improvement of the system.
BACKGROUND
The group most neglected when considering the problem of child protection in cars is that of the 4-to lZyear-old child, i.e. children who have outgrown a child seat. The problems of constructing a good system for children in this age group differ markedly from those of constructing a system for younger children.
Parents and others who drive with a young child in the car are well aware of the need for keeping the child in place in order to prevent disturbance to the driver. There is also an obvious need to restrain the child during turning and braking maneuvers. Factors related to the protection of the child during an accident as well as the comfort of the child are of course also important to parents (see, e.g. Arnberg, 1974Arnberg, , 1978;; Arnberg, Arnberg and Trinca, 1978), but it is doubtful whether these factors alone would induce parents to obtain a child restraint system, as most parents judge the risk for an accident to be rather low.
The older child, however, can keep himself in place and is no longer a great disturbance to the driver. This has resulted in the fact that parents often have overlooked the safety needs of children in this age group. Many parents seem to feel that the child manages well in the back seat. In many European cars with bucket seats, however, the child often has a habit of standing between the front seats and is thus completely unprotected in the event of an accident. The recognition of the need for restraining all passengers in a car has become more and more widespread. Accident analyses have shown that all passengers in a car are safer if they are fastened in, regardless of whether this occurs in the front or rear seat (Andersson and Jonasson, 1977;Williams and Zador, 1976). Thus interest has increased for developing a protection system for children who have outgrown a child seat but are still too small to use an adult belt.
During the past decade preliminary tests have been carried out at the Swedish Road and Traffic Research Institute studying seat belts and harnesses designed especially for children. The results have shown that few children have accepted using these systems, mainly because they must remain seated in a position which does not allow them to see out. During this age it is important for children to observe what is happening on the road and to be able to follow their parents' comments concerning this activity. A protection system taking this factor into consideration would therefore be highly desirable.
Several manufacturers have recently developed a system which elevates the child, enabling him to see out. This system consists of a specially designed cushion which is placed on the ordinary back seat. The cushion elevates the child to window height and in this position the adult belt assumes a better fit. Two variants of this system are available in both Sweden and Australia. The first variant consists simply of a thick foam rubber cushion (including back support). In simulated crash tests in Melbourne, however, (Amberg and Mollnar, unpublished research findings) it has been shown that those cushions do not function well and may even increase the risk for injury during an accident. This is because of the softness of the cushion as well as the fact that it is not held in place by the adult belt. These factors give the cushions a tendency to slide forward during an accident, resulting in the child being left hanging in the seat belt by the neck. Turbell (personal communication), from simulated crash test studies at the Swedish Road and Traffic Research Institute, as well as from earlier experience, has also warned against this type of system.