The child car seat
– how long do you need one?
Your little ones are only safe on the road with a high-quality child car seat – in the following article, we explain exactly how long one is needed and which rules must be observed. We also introduce you to the nachfolger® HyFive, the ideal child car seat for urban mobility and international travel.
Why do you need a child car seat?
Safety is the top priority when driving with children. It is obvious that a baby needs to be well-secured in its own infant carrier or a child car seat. But why do primary school children also need a suitable seat?
Cars are designed for adults, or rather for people with an average height of about 170 cm and a weight of 50 kg and up. For children, who have a much smaller body size and lower weight, built-in safety measures such as belts do not provide sufficient protection. The car seat belt must run across the correct parts of the body (shoulder and pelvis) to protect the passenger in an accident. This is the case for adults, but for a child, the belt rests against the neck and abdomen. Airbags are also adapted to the size and physical resilience of an adult. They hit an adult’s chest. For children, however, they strike the head with far too much force. Therefore, children need their own seat to protect them in the vehicle during collisions.
A child car seat installed facing away from the direction of travel offers more protection for babies and toddlers than a forward-facing seat. Sitting with the back to the direction of travel reduces the risk of cervical spine injuries in a crash. Proportionally, children’s heads are much larger compared to the rest of the body than those of adults. In a frontal impact, the strain on the neck is therefore also stronger. When sitting in the direction of travel, the jerky forward movement would put a heavy strain on the child’s sensitive head and neck. That’s why nachfolger® has chosen the safest orientation – rear-facing.
What is the legal situation?
The driver is always responsible for ensuring that children traveling in the vehicle are sufficiently and legally secured. Even if the child complains or unbuckles themselves, you must not drive without child safety restraints. A child car seat must be carried in the car and the child must be properly secured in it. Furthermore, the child car seat must have ECE approval. This guarantees that the seat meets all legal requirements. (Depending on the model, the nachfolger® HyFive is equipped with the ECE R44/04 or ECE R129/04 certificate.) Insufficient or non-existent child safety restraints are punished with a fine (administrative penalty). In addition, an entry is made in the driver’s license point system. After two entries within two years, a retraining course must be attended. More than two entries can lead to the withdrawal of the driver’s license.
However, the law is not there to punish drivers, but to protect the children traveling with them. The ÖAMTC and other institutions offer regular training sessions that illustrate the importance of child car seats. In test videos with dummies, you can also see the impressive and shocking consequences of a car accident without or with inferior/unsuitable child car seats. The General German Automobile Club (ADAC) tests child car seats and provides detailed reports. In May 2019, the nachfolger® HyFive received an overall grade of 2.6 and a safety grade of 1.9. It also has TÜV for use in aircraft (we recommend using the nachfolger® travel kit on planes).
Until when is a child car seat necessary?
In Austria, children up to 14 years of age who are under 135 cm tall require a suitable child restraint system. From a height of 135 cm, the car seat belt in the vehicle is sufficient – even for children under 14.
The limit is therefore either 14 years or 135 cm, whichever is reached first. In Germany and Switzerland, these limits are 12 years and 150 cm.
Then there are a few special regulations.
- If all other seats in the vehicle are occupied, a lap belt is sufficient for securing children weighing 18 kg or more.
- If the two outer seats on a 3-seater bench are already occupied by child car seats and a third child car seat will not fit, a lap belt is also sufficient for the third child if they are older than 3 years.
Of course, the third child would be safer in a child car seat. However, the law acknowledges here that most child car seats are too wide to place three of them on a back seat. The HyFive solves this problem! The HyFive is narrower than many other child car seats. This is because no side attachments are necessary. The SAS (Side Air Suspension) technology offers optimal protection in a side crash and ensures that the child is secured as if by an airbag. On the inside, the HyFive offers your child plenty of space, but on the outside, it is less bulky. Therefore, 3 child car seats can fit side by side even in compact cars.
Which child car seat for which age?
Since a child in Austria needs their own restraint system until the age of 14 or a height of 135 cm, suitable child car seats must be purchased again and again over time. They are divided into standard groups based on the size or weight of the child.
Weight class 0 is intended for children up to 10 kg. These are mainly infant carriers that are installed rear-facing. Seats in weight class I are suitable for children from 9 to 18 kg. Weight class II goes from 15 to 25 kg and weight class III from 22 to 36 kg.
There is also the UN ECE R129; this standard was developed in 2013 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and has since formed the European safety standard for child car seats. Here, the classification is based on body height rather than weight. Child car seats in the first two categories may only be installed in the car using the Isofix system. This is a fastening system with a rigid connection between the vehicle body and the child car seat. Phase 1 includes children from 40 to 105 cm. Child car seats in the Phase 2 classification are designed for 100 to max. 150 cm. Phase 3 then describes those child car seats that are not fastened with the Isofix system but with the vehicle belt. It includes children from birth up to 105 cm in height.
What makes the HyFive from nachfolger® special?
The HyFive is designed for children up to 18 kg. It therefore corresponds to weight classes 0 and 1. Most child car seats are approved for a shorter period of time. There are special infant carriers, followed by a child car seat from one year and then often a child car seat from 3 years. Having to buy a new restraint system so frequently is not only expensive but also generates a lot of waste and consumes many resources. We at nachfolger® want to take a more sustainable path here. The name says it all; the next generation is important to us. Therefore, we also want to produce products that are as environmentally friendly as possible. The solution is our adjustable child car seat, which is suitable from 0 to 5 years, up to 18 kg or approximately 105 cm in height. With the HyFive, safety is ensured continuously for up to five years.
Installation in the car is very easy. The HyFive is a so-called rear-facing car seat. It is placed facing away from the direction of travel, as this is the safest orientation for a child car seat. It is then secured with the vehicle belt. Finally, you adjust the seat individually to your child. The neck support and shoulder straps can be adjusted exactly to the child’s size. An adjustable child car seat has the great advantage of adapting precisely to the child and their growth. “Growing” or adjustable child car seats are generally heavier and more complicated to install. But not the HyFive. It weighs less than 5 kg and is very easy to mount.
Safety and expert advice
The HyFive stands for optimal safety. An additional tether strap at the top of the child car seat – the Top Tether – helps to reduce the forward movement of the head in a frontal crash and thereby protect the cervical spine. SAS (Side Air Suspension) technology also offers optimal protection in a side crash. If an accident has occurred, you can have the child car seat checked, repaired, or replaced at our service center in Vienna. You can also contact us for damage that does not result from an accident.
On our website, you will find videos and detailed descriptions for installing the child car seat. An extensive FAQ page can also help you with any questions.
The ideal child car seat for urban mobility and globetrotting
The HyFive is an inflatable child car seat. This makes it very easy to transport and space-saving to store when you don’t need it. This makes it, for example, the ideal child car seat for travel and for life in urban areas. More and more city dwellers are taking advantage of car sharing. However, with children, car seats, diapers, and snacks in tow, it’s not so easy to change vehicles quickly and often. The HyFive offers the ideal solution here! It weighs less than 5 kg and can be carried comfortably folded compactly in the supplied transport bag. The bag also serves as a seat protector and keeps the car seat covers clean.
It is also the perfect companion when traveling, in taxis, or rental cars. In addition, it has TÜV approval for use in aircraft – with the HyFive, your children are well-protected even on air travels. In contrast to the child car seat requirement in cars discussed above, separate child car seats are not mandatory in aircraft. However, children are particularly at risk during strong turbulence or emergency landings because, just like car seats, aircraft seats are designed for adults. A separate restraint system tailored to the smaller size and lower weight of children would also be important on a plane. The HyFive is absolutely ideal here. Thanks to the supplied automatic pump, inflation is quick and effortless. The seat can be deflated and folded up just as quickly. Compared to conventional bulky child car seats that weigh up to three times as much, you can move much more easily with the HyFive. It perfectly meets today’s demands for mobility, flexibility, and sustainability.
In our shop, you will find all the important information about the HyFive models and can order them directly online. If you have any questions, we are always happy to help!
