DUBAI 24 June 2018: Child safety just got better with the arrival of the first child car seat – with airbags.
The safety of children in cars remains a critical concern and UAE media reported in February 2018, that 64 per cent of fatal injuries of kids are the result of road traffic incidents (Abu Dhabi). The holistic seat belt law as per 1st July 2017, ongoing education efforts and the introduction of innovative products are seen as key ingredients to improve the situation.
According to Maxi-Cosi, who manufacture the seat, in the case of a collision, the airbags located in the two shoulder pads of the harness inflate within 0.05 seconds. This reduces the forces on a child’s neck up to 55% compared to a standard forward-facing child car seat. The airbags automatically deflate just 1 second after the collision. The ground-breaking technology enhances the safety of children in forward-facing car seats enormously. Tests prove that this new technology leads to a significant reduction of the forces acting on the neck vertebrae and the head in the case of a frontal collision.
Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director, RoadSafetyUAE, adds: “In a research project we conducted in February 2017 we found out that 34% of UAE parents do not have proper child seats or booster cushions. The numbers are even more alarming in the segment of young parents (18-29 years), with 42% and in the segment of Emiratis with 47% not having the needed devices! The 1st of July 2017 marked the introduction of the holistic seat belt law in the UAE and we sincerely hope that parents would have started using child car seats and booster cushions more by now. We will soon repeat the 2017 research project to find out, if this actually has happened.
The introduction of this high-tech airbag child seat will certainly raise the awareness for this fundamental topic of child safety once more and we are pleased that this innovative product launch also marks the start of the cooperation between Mamas & Papas and RoadSafetyUAE. This partnership will result in a series of initiatives aimed at raising the awareness for child car seat safety and improving the penetration and the actual use of child car seats.”
The airbag car seat from Maxi-Cosi is distributed by Mamas & Papas.
Richard Peace, Senior Vice President at Al Tayer Insignia, explains: “As market leaders, Mamas & Papas are constantly searching for innovations that improve the safety of children in cars. The airbag innovation is a revolutionary step forward in child safety and we are proud to be able to offer this to our customers”.