Therefore, the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI, together with the Swedish National Society for Road Safety, NTF has developed an additional standard that tests how force to the neck is handled in accident situations. The standard will be called “Plus test” and will be voluntary as an addition to the European E-standard.

In Sweden there was a previous testing standard for car seats called the T-standard, but it had to be removed due European competition regulations (sounds like “you’re standard is too strict, other European manufacturers can’t enter the market, please lower them”).

In my, (and other people’s) experience, when you look for a car seat, safety is the most important factor. The plus-standard is a welcome addition to the previous tests. Car seats that passed the test will be allowed to use the following sticker on their products:

The plus test has been developed in cooperation between insurance companies, Volvo, the research organizations mentioned above and manufacturers of car seats. More information at the (auto translated) page on ntf.se.

In the 1980s there were many studies that showed that up to half of all child seats were partially or completely installed in the wrong way. At the same time child safety was beginning to gain momentum in the car industry. The idea of creating a simple and well defined interface for child restraints in cars was born in Sweden and swedish car manufacturers together with research institutions formed an ISO committee to develop the standard. The development was completed in 1996 and was named ISOFIX. The same year the Volkswagen group decided to introduce ISOFIX in the entire range.

The system is known as LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, in the United States and LUAS, Lower Universal Anchorage System, in Canada. It has also been called the “Universal Child Safety Seat System”.

Most cars sold in Europe today come with ISOFIX mounts installed by default and they are very simple to use. It is also very easy to find child restraints/seats that use ISOFIX. The only problem is that ISOFIX mounts can’t be used for children above 18 Kg which means you will have to fit the child restraint the ordinary way if you intend to have them rearward-facing up to 4 years of age or longer.

What is the situation like in your country? Is it easy to find cars and seats that use ISOFIX?