Volvo Car Group releases new edition of award-winning child safety manual
Volvo Car Group releases new edition of award-winning child safety manual
Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) has released the third edition of the company’s book ‘Children & Cars – a Safety Manual’. The award-winning manual helps parents all over the world make sure that their children travel safely in the car. The new child safety manual is available at Volvo dealers globally and can also be downloaded here.
Volvo Cars presented its first rear-facing child seat concept already back in 1967 – and the pioneering work to protect the youngest and most vulnerable occupants in the car has evolved ever since.
The target group for child safety information is growing continuously. Every minute, somewhere in the world, there are new parents putting their precious newborn child in the car for the first time.
“Actually, a child makes its first car trip long before it is born. So our child safety manual describes how pregnant women as well as children of all ages can travel as safely as possible,” says Prof. Lotta Jakobsson, Senior Technical Specialist Safety at Volvo Cars Safety Centre. She adds: “Giving parents easy access to useful information about child safety is a natural part of Volvo Cars’ human-centric approach. Tragedies involving children in cars are often due to lack of knowledge.”
The importance of spreading the word has been acknowledged by customers and society over the years. Volvo Cars’ child safety manual has been awarded several prizes, including the Swedish Publishing Award in 2007.
Rear-facing position safest
Urging parents to have small children travelling in a rear-facing seat remains a core principle also in the latest edition of ‘Children & Cars – a Safety Manual’.
“A child's head is big and heavy relative to its body. Since the vertebrae and muscles of the neck are not fully developed, the consequences can be severe for a young child facing forward in a frontal collision,” explains Lotta Jakobsson. “That is why we advise parents to position the child rear-facing until at least three years of age,” she adds.
Integrated booster cushions
The forward-facing child should still use a child restraint system developed for its age. A belt-positioning booster accommodates these needs. This helps positioning the lap belt over the thighs, not against the child’s belly, in order to help provide safe travelling also for the child. Ingenious, integrated two-stage child booster cushions are available for several new Volvo models.
Towards zero
“Promoting child safety is an important part of our safety work. We keep moving towards our aim that by 2020 no one should be injured or killed in a new Volvo. Our long-term vision is that cars should not crash,” says Lotta Jakobsson.