European testing & labeling

UlrikeDG · Apr 7, 2008

Occasionally, someone here wonders "aloud" (or a-type) about European testing standards. In their latest site update, Römer added info about ECE Standards (including sled test criteria!) and ECE Labeling.

If you haven't already, go check it out!

CRS · Apr 8, 2008

That's awesome - thank you!

snowbird25ca · Apr 8, 2008

That's really interesting.

So did I understand correctly that their head excursion without top tether is 550mm and with isofix and top tether 500mm?

That is sure significantly less than our limits. I wonder if they measure excursion the same way as we do?

hopster67 · Apr 8, 2008

Thank you!!!

southpawboston · Apr 8, 2008

would that person who "thinks aloud" be me???

the current EU standard as far as i know is ECE 44/04. i think i have a PDF at home of the *entire* standard, complete with testing methods (which should describe the excursion test), design criteria, and labeling requirements. if anyone is interested, i can email it to them. i have it buried somewhere on my computer at home.

by the way, it's nice to know that some seats sold in the US also pass the more stringent ECE 44/04 standards as well

.

UlrikeDG · Apr 8, 2008

southpawboston said:
would that person who "thinks aloud" be me???

Trouble maker.

No, actually, I wasn't thinking of you specifically when I posted, and I'm pretty sure you're not the only one who has mentioned it.

Obviously, the info there is highly simplified, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in this context.

southpawboston · Apr 8, 2008

snowbird25ca said:
That's really interesting.

So did I understand correctly that their head excursion without top tether is 550mm and with isofix and top tether 500mm?

That is sure significantly less than our limits. I wonder if they measure excursion the same way as we do?

i found the specification. the version i have is ECE 44/03, which went into effect in 2004. it does not address ISOFIX. ISOFIX was added to the revised specification ECE 44/04. they seem to measure excursion differently than FMVSS213. they measure it from the front edge of the side wing forward (they show a nice diagram of this). so, the dummie's head is allowed to travel forward of the front edge of the side wing by 550 mm (21.6 inches). for top tethered seats, it's 19.7 inches.

UlrikeDG · Apr 8, 2008

So CRs with deeper side wings are allowed a higher head excursion (by US measurements)?

southpawboston · Apr 8, 2008

UlrikeDG said:
So CRs with deeper side wings are allowed a higher head excursion (by US measurements)?

yes, if i read you correctly.

in the european test, with excursion being measured from the front edge of the wing, it means that the measurement is being made relative to the *carseat* position, as opposed to relative to the *car*, and different seats will have a different baseline for that measurement. that means that for a seat with side wings that extend far forward, the child's head is allowed to move farther forward (relative to the car) than for a seat with wings that don't extend very far forward. however, the this style of testing ensures that one seat doesn't perform better than another in terms of gross movement of the dummy. in the US style of testing, having a carseat that positions the dummy as far back in the vehicle as possible confers an advantage in the excursion test. a seat that positions the child farther forward will have to restrict the dummy's movement more in order to comply with the specification. the european test eliminates this difference.

but then again, a seat that passes both FMVSS213 *and* ECE 44/03 (or 04) has the best of both worlds

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European testing & labeling

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