crash test video or info help please

Frontal and side impacts are the most common type of crashes. They account for 96% of all crashes. They are also the most deadly type of crashes (especially side impacts) and rear-facing children have MUCH more protection in both types of crashes than forward-facing. In the 4% of rear impact crashes that a rear-facing child would be in, they have at least the same amount of protection that a FF child would have in a frontal impact, with the added benefit of less crash energy being transferred to them, and the fact that the rear impact is usually not as severe.

The forces in a rear impact crash are much different from the forces in a frontal impact crash. In a frontal impact, the forces are much greater because the vehicles are usually traveling in opposite directions. Experts suggest that a frontal crash is the same as hitting a concrete barrier � the vehicle and all occupants come to a dead stop within less than 1 second.

When you are struck in a rear impact, the vehicles involved are traveling in the same direction, and the vehicle that is hit in the back has room to move forward. The crash force on the occupants is much less than in a frontal impact. The movement of the impacted vehicle, in addition to the crush zone, absorbs a lot of the crash energy, so it is not transferred to the child. Additionally, the majority of rear impacts are at low speeds.

In short, if your child is rear-facing, he has optimal protection in the types of crashes you are most likely to be in. If he is forward-facing, he may have optimal protection in a rear-end crash, but statistically, that is the least likely to happen and he is 60% more likely to be injured or killed in the types of crashes (frontal, side impact) you are most likely to be in.

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While some rear-facing restraints may not perform as well in rear impacts, it must be noted that rear and rear offset impacts account for approximately only 5.9% of fatal injuries in motor vehicle crashes and are usually of far, far less severity then frontal impacts. This is because typically in a frontal crash there are two vehicles travelling in opposite directions at high speeds. When these two cars collide with each other, both stop very abruptly, in a fraction of a second, with a tremendous amount of force and energy. Or, it may be just the one vehicle travelling at high speed and colliding with a stationary object. Rear impacts however most often occur when one vehicle has stopped (say at an intersection) and another car hits it from behind and usually this is at a very low speed, often causing minimal damage. Of course, severe rear-impacts do occur, but as discussed above, are far less common then frontal and side impacts.

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