ISOFIX Child Seats : The benefits and how to fit correctly

ISOFIX child restraints that are compliant under the Australian Standard can now be used legally, but the old way is still ok. There are however, a number of reasons parents are being encouraged to make the move to ISOFIX. The ISOFIX system is the norm for many countries across the world, making Australia a little late to the party. Amendments to the Child Restraints Standard AS/NZS1754 were made back in June 2013 were officially adopted into the Standard late last year. Back in the 1990s there was a groundswell of public support for an standard child restraint system, the International Standards Committee on child restraints began brainstorming and developed ISOFIX - a system that could be used to install child restraints without needing a seatbelt. Child safety seats can now be fitted to vehicles using the ISOFIX connectors that are low on the seat, they must also have a top-tether. The data suggests that over 70% of conventional lap-sash seats are incorrectly fitted which can negatively affect the performance of the child seat. In severe side impacts, crash tests have shown there is an improvement in the amount of movement of an ISOFIX seat. It's clip in system helps take some of the guess work out of installation – either it's in or its not. Installation is quick and easy. With the seat outside the car, pull out the ISOFIX attachment points and hang the top-tether strap over the front of the seat. Position the seat in the vehicle, lining up the arms with the symbols on seat. Slide home until it clicks into place, you'll see green symbol on the arms and give it a shake to check its firmly connected. Attach top tether and tighten the strap. In Australia, both Safe n Sound and Maxi-Cosi have ISOFIX compliant child safety seats on the market.