Is there a study that compares Swedish to American Car seat safety?

Baylor · Feb 25, 2011

I am not sure where to ask this. I wonder if there are statistics that compare their practices and child safety record and the US practice and safety record?

bobandjess99 · Feb 25, 2011

Well. There are like..the death rates. I dont have them at my fingertips, but i know that, even correcting for population differences, the US rate is much higher. However, we don't know how much of that is car seat practices versus other things such as drunk/distracted driving rates, weather, road layout, drivers education/licensing laws, vehicle safety ratings, etc.

As far as practices...I think we have some statistics on usage, at least for here...like the insanely high misuse rate, non-use rate, etc...I'm not sure if there are Swedish studies?

So...I'm not aware of any studies directly comparing the two, but I think you can possibly extrapolate from a multitude of individual studies to get some sort of picture.

ketchupqueen · Feb 25, 2011

The problem is that there are too many variables to account for to really do a 1:1 comparison. Seats are tested to different standards. We have American non-use/misuse statistics, but we don't have Swedish (that I know of.) Sweden is a smaller country with a vastly different vehicle fleet than America, with different road conditions, driving habits, etc., etc. They don't use top tethers for FF seats. It goes on and on.

I think the study comparing Swedish to British use is more valuable; more similarities in usage rates and some other areas, but the British pattern of use is very similar to American (despite our laws being "better" in some areas, the way they're actually followed tends to mirror British use quite frequently.) But it's nearly impossible to do a 1:1 comparison across countries, really. So we're left with mostly theoretical data-- with which a lot can still be done! But no, not real world.

Baylor · Feb 25, 2011

Thanks for trying to answer that. I guess I was wondering because we seem to take so much from the Swedish. With ERF I was wondering if they were the model over all that has changed the recommendation from 1 yr and 20 to 2 yrs.

I know I have seen it mentioned here that RF is 500% safer.. but I don't know where that comes from either.

Thanks for helping me understand the whys.

Carrie_R · Feb 25, 2011

Here's a link to the abstract of the study from which the 500% stat originates. It's actually 5.32x for 12-23 months. Strangely it's less than 2 for kids under a year.

http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/13/6/398.abstract

ETA: Jess, your post made me literally LOL. My roommate looked at me like I had 3 heads.

christineka · Feb 25, 2011

Here's the one that actually compared US data with Swedish data and concluded rear-facing was safest up to 5 years.

http://kidsincars.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-european-research-children-should.html

Cilia · Feb 25, 2011

I have absolutely no study to back this up with, but I would guess that the actual car seat misuse is about the same.

I also think that most parents leave their kids rf up to at least 2 in Sweden, maybe a bit longer. And a large group keep their kids rf even longer. Most of my friends do not turn their kids until they are 5.

The biggest difference though is the fleet of cars.

A vehicle older than 3 years has to be inspected yearly in Sweden. The breaks, tires and emission is checked and if the car fails (as in considered not road worthy) the owner has to fix everything for the car to be allowed on roads. This means that there are not as many dangerous cars on the road in Sweden as there are here (in my opinion).

skaterbabs · Feb 26, 2011

Cilia said:
I
The biggest difference though is the fleet of cars.

A vehicle older than 3 years has to be inspected yearly in Sweden. The breaks, tires and emission is checked and if the car fails (as in considered not road worthy) the owner has to fix everything for the car to be allowed on roads. This means that there are not as many dangerous cars on the road in Sweden as there are here (in my opinion).

Actually, most states require annual inspections here as well - and not just for older vehicles. In my state, every vehicle must be inspected every year, and can not be driven on public roads until it passes. The only exempt vehicles are those with antique plates, which have restrictions on when, where and how far they can be driven.

Cilia · Feb 26, 2011

skaterbabscpst said:
Actually, most states require annual inspections here as well - and not just for older vehicles. In my state, every vehicle must be inspected every year, and can not be driven on public roads until it passes. The only exempt vehicles are those with antique plates, which have restrictions on when, where and how far they can be driven.

You are probably right. I just know that in NV they don't check breaks or anything, just emission in certain areas. And I am pretty sure they don't check in WI either.

christineka · Feb 26, 2011

Cilia said:
You are probably right. I just know that in NV they don't check breaks or anything, just emission in certain areas. And I am pretty sure they don't check in WI either.

Different states (and sometimes even different counties within the state) have their own regulations as to car inspections. NH had very stringent inspection standards, but if you knew the right mechanic, you could get anything pass.

carseatcoach · Feb 26, 2011

Based on purely anecdotal "evidence", people in Sweden spend a lot less time in passenger vehicles than people in America do. Regardless of car or carseat, keeping kids off the roads keeps them safer.

Is there a study that compares Swedish to American Car seat safety?

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