What the law says

      Since May 2006, it is compulsory to use safety belts and 
      child restraint systems in all vehicles in Europe (Directive 
      2003/20/EC). It is also mandatory to use child car seats
      within the EU for children up to the heights of 1.35m or
      1.5m - depending upon the member state.



Child Safety Standard – ECE label
All car seats must display an ECE R44/04 certification label to indicate they comply with standard safety
requirement.

Year after year, our child car seats exceed the European Test Standard for Child Restraints ECE R 44 introduced
in 1982. The constantly upgraded requirements of the standard clearly show the change which has taken place
in child safety.

From April 2008, all child car seats that were manufactured before 1995 and approved to the ECE R Standard
Regulations 44/01 and 44/02 are no longer legal and must not be used.

All BRITAX child car seats are tested and approved to the current Child
Safety Standard ECE R 44/04, shown by the first two numbers on the approval number on the orange approval
label (ECE-label).

Explanation of the ECE-label

shows for which category the child seat has been approved approved for weight "Y" shows that this child seat has a 5-point harness system with crotch strap  European Approval indicator indication for country in which the approval was obtained (1=Germany, 2=France, 3=Italy, 4=the Netherlands etc.) Approval number. The first two numbers show to which version                 ECE R 44 the child    seat has been approved (in this case ECE R 44/04) current number

Child Safety Standard – ECE Standard
Extracts from the ECE Standard

European experts have determined five groups for child restraint systems, classified by the weight of the child:

Operating & Using Criteria
a) Buckle Opening Forces		without load 4 - 8 kp (40 - 80 N) under 10 kg under load max. 8 kp (80 N)
b) Belt Length Adjuster		adjustment force max. 5 kp (50 N)
c) Adjustment from upright into reclined position		without belt length adjustment
No metal on body / no sharp edges		-

Sled Test Criteria
a) Test Speed		Frontal Impact: 50 km/h Rear Impact: 30 km /h
b) Maximum permissible head foward movement horizontal (foward facing) horizontal (reward facing) verticle		Groups I, II, III: 550 mm Group I ISOFIX universal with TopTether: 500 mm Group 0: 600 mm Groups 0+ and I: 650 mm all Groups: 800 mm
c) Maximum chest deceleration		resulting deceleration (Res): 55 g vertical (direction towards the head): 30 g
d) Abdominal load no clay print		no clay print
e) Motion sequence evaluation of film		evaluation of film

Car and child car seat approvals
There are 3 types of car seat approvals: universal, semi-universal and vehicle specific. This allows you to know if a
seat fits your car and is approved to the safety standards for it. Universal approval isn’t vehicle specific, and the
seat is approved for installation in all cars. You should however check that the seat fits really well in your vehicle.

Universal approval
The seat is approved for use in all vehicles that meet ECE R14 and R16 regulations. In the case of ISOFIX the
child seat MUST have the TopTether connected to the car’s anchorage points. In all ISOFIX cases this solution
must be used and the vehicle’s handbook must state that the car is suitable for “Universal ISOFIX Child Seats”.

Semi-universal approval
Semi-universal approval is when, in addition to any standard requirements, other safety devices for attaching a
seat are used and require additional testing, (check lists here). For example: some cars provide additional storage
space within or beneath the floor area that can influence the behavior of a foot prop, therefore you need to check if
your car appears on the vehicle list.

Vehicle specific approval
The car seat is tested in an additional car-specific dynamic crash test and approved only for these cars. The car MUST
appear on the child seat manufacturer’s application list (vehicle lists at www.britax-roemer.eu). This may include special
features or designs that can only be installed in a car of a specific type.