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13.
July
2018.
Press release: Make summer driving safer by keeping your children rear facing

 

Press release: 13thJuly 2018

 

Make summer driving safer by keeping your children rear facing

Around 18.5 million drivers will hit the roads here in the UK during the summer holiday period, unfortunately more congested roads mean the chance of a collision increases. In the case of a collision with babies or children in the vehicle their bodies offer them a lot less protection than that of an adult.

Children are NOT miniature adults, at 9 months old a baby carries 25% of its body weight in its head, in comparison an adult carries 6%, not only have they the weight disadvantage but the ligaments and muscles in their necks are not yet fully developed.

It therefore makes sense to consider seriously the safety benefits of keeping a child rear facing for longer, in Scandinavian countries keeping children rear facing for longer is customary. In fact in 2009 the British Medical Journal recommended that rear facing is the safest way for children under the age of 4 to travel in a car.

The countries that have adopted the concept of keeping children rear facing for longer have the lowest rates of infant mortality on the roads globally.

Swedish company Axkid manufactures rear facing seats that offer greater protection in the event of a collision, importantly the head rest of a rear facing seat greatly reduces the movements in the head and neck of a child in the event of a frontal collision.

Sweden as a country is at the forefront in road safety and has the rigorous Plus Test which, when applied to car seats, ensures that a child is not exposed to life threatening high head and neck trauma forces in the event of a frontal collision.

An Axkid rear facing seat is suitable for use from when a child can sit unaided through until they weigh 25kg (approx. 125cm/6 years) the Axkid Minikid is secured using the vehicle's existing standard 3 point seatbelt while the support leg, which can be extended by pushing just one button, allows easy installation in almost any vehicle. The support leg offers five positions to obtain the optimum slope and recline requirement for each individual child depending on height and age.

ENDS:

Note to Editors:

Further information on the benefits of rear facing for longer is available from:

http://www.carseat.se/the-swedish-rear-facing-car-seat-approach/

https://babyseat.fundacionmapfre.org/children/images/child-safety-cars_tcm726-93770.pdf

https://www.folksam.se/media/Rapport_Bilbarnstolar_2016_Eng_K3_tcm5-33085.pdf

http://www.visionzeroinitiative.com

 

Axkid www.axkid.com Find Axkid on FaceBookTwitter#rearfacingforlonger

 

Children have fragile, flexible and poorly developed neck muscles. When a child is forward facing and a frontal collision occurs the child's head is flung forward in the seat. This will cause an enormous amount of stress in the neck. A child's neck and spine are vulnerable because their spines are still soft and not solidified like an adult.

 

For more information or to arrange an interview with a member of the Axkid team please contactNick Butlerat Practical Media Services. 01892 667314nickbutler@practicalmediaservices.com