Child seat How old are you? Jan 22 20:35

Child seats are indispensable for going out by car when there are small children. Use of children under the age of 6 is required by law. There are child seats that allow the child to sit backwards and those that allow the child to sit forward, and it is a national rule that children up to 1 year and 3 months and up to 83 cm tall should be used face down. By the way, have you ever wondered why you have to sit backwards? And why can we sit positively after "one year and three months"? At what age is it safe to switch back and forth? Issues are now being pointed out by experts. (Osaka Broadcasting Station Reporter Imitani Mitani)

Unexpected injury in an accident

The interview was triggered by a research presentation on a traffic accident in Osaka Prefecture.

In October 2017, a light passenger car was running on a gentle curve with one lane on each side in Sennan City, Osaka. A light passenger car trying to avoid the small animals that rushed out collided with a telephone pole on the side of the road. A two-and-a-half-year-old boy sitting in the backseat became temporarily unconscious.

In the accident, the boy could hardly move any parts below his neck, such as his feet and hands. I interviewed about two years after the accident, but the boy continued to be hospitalized and worked hard on rehabilitation, and finally his fingers appeared to be moving.

Why is it according to national rules?

There is a doctor who asks the question of the accident. This is Dr. Shingo Adachi of the Senshu Emergency and Critical Care Center in Osaka, Japan, who treated a boy. This is the doctor who summarized the research presentations I saw.

At the time of the accident, the boy was correctly wearing a child seat. Because it was two and a half years old, it is a positive child seat according to the rules of the country. It was the latest product to be fixed firmly to the seat, with all shoulder and waist belts on. And why did he get so seriously injured? Dr. Adachi felt questionable.

The focus was on the boy's neck-to-chest fracture. Fractures of the spine and displacement of the thoracic spine were confirmed, and the spinal cord was found to be damaged.

When a car crashes head-on, the body moves forward by the impact. While the shoulders are fixed with a belt, only the head is thrown forward, and it seems that nerves around the neck have been damaged.

Adachi thought that if the boy sat backwards, he could have done a lighter injury.

Dr. Shingo Adachi, Senshu Emergency and Critical Care Center, Osaka Prefecture: As in this case, if there is no point of imperfection and there is no way to wear it further, if you are so injured, the rules pertaining to the mounting of the child seat itself I asked questions. "

What is the difference between forward and backward?

How does the impact of an accident differ depending on the direction in which the child sits in the child seat? It is a video of the experiment.

This is an experiment in which two front-facing and rear-facing child seats are arranged on the back seat of a car, and the car is head-on collision. The dummy doll sitting in the forward-facing child seat has its neck shaking greatly.

Children are heavier and have less mature bones, and the same accident is likely to cause more injuries than adults. When sitting backwards, the impact is absorbed by the entire back and the power is distributed.

For this reason, small children should be seated in rear-facing child seats.

How do you see Japan's "guru"

How old should a child sit back?

The rules adopted by Japan, "up to one year and three months" and "up to 83 cm tall," are in accordance with the standards set by the UN Working Group.

Standards vary from country to country. In the United States, the Pediatrics Society recommends "up to 2 years old." In some states, "up to 3 years old." Sweden also states "up to 3 years old."

How should we look at this situation?
I was interviewed with Dr. Yoshinori Tanaka, Chief Researcher of the National Institute for Road Safety and Environment, a leading expert on the safety of child seats.

Mr. Tanaka, who represented Japan and joined the UN Working Group on setting standards, says that there is not enough grounds for why UN standards are "up to one year and three months". Looking back on the situation at the time, there were aspects where the discussion proceeded without any solid data.

`` In the debate over child seats sitting backwards, car manufacturers want to reduce the size of child seats in order to make the best use of limited vehicle space. I was thinking about increasing the size of the child seat so that it could carry as many children as possible. After discussion, the size was settled down when the two were balanced, which resulted in "one year and three months". "

In addition, Mr. Tanaka pointed out the necessity of conducting research on data on what kind of injuries a child might have.

Dr. Tanaka: “The number of possible impacts on the neck, chest, and head is so low that the impact should be kept below a certain level. think"

It has been said that discussions on scientific data may be necessary, and finally the UN Special Task Force has begun to raise this voice. Given the safety of children, I feel that scientific discussions involving pediatric care and car construction specialists are required.

Research to help children safely drive

Here is a letter from a father of a boy who was injured in a traffic accident that was triggered by a doctor through a doctor. His father hopes that this accident will lead to more research into safer child riding.

"This time, my child suffered a serious injury from cervical spinal cord injury due to a traffic accident, but a traffic accident can happen at any time, and at the time of the accident, the child was in a child seat. I thought that this accident was not a bumpy accident, but rather a big one, but at the same time, I felt, "Why did my child suffer such a serious injury?" There was no major damage to the backseat space that was being used, and it was not possible to resolve the question "Why the child behind was more seriously injured." The role of parents and the role of adults are to protect children, but each person has its own limits. With the awareness of the fact that this kind of accident has happened to a considerable extent in society, people involved in cars and child seats can proceed with research and development. I feel very encouraging. ''

Be as long as possible

Chief Researcher Yoshinori Tanaka of the National Institute for Road Safety and Environment stabbed a nail saying that using a child seat is by no means dangerous.

He said that the child's head should not protrude from the backrest of the child seat, and that the child should use a rear-facing child seat as long as possible.

Osaka Broadcasting Station Reporter Ima Mitani Joined Tokushima in 2009, and moved to Tokushima and Kanazawa Broadcasting Stations.