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FM studies

FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE Studies

There are various interesting studies regarding the safety of child car seats and their correct use. Come and see what you may learn so that children may travel in safety.

Everything you need to know about child safety.

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European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), in collaboration with the Flemish Foundation for Traffic Knowledge (VSV) and Fundación MAPFRE.

To access the study, download it at:

‘Fundamental principles of road safety and mobility education’ (LEARN)

Countries across Europe are working on offering the best education in road traffic safety and mobility, especially in schools. However, it should be borne in mind that this education differs greatly from one place to another and, above all, varies greatly across countries. Sometimes, road traffic safety education is practically non-existent. 

The document includes 17 key principles which offer an effective road traffic safety education and, in addition, the work brings together a wide range of good practices. These 17 points are divided into 5 categories.

Link to the video.

Fundación MAPFRE 2016

To access the study, download on:

The Fundación MAPFRE 2016 dossier on child road safety in cars in Spain and Latin America: child restraint systems 2016

If a six-month-old baby is traveling in the lap of an adult it will automatically be thrown forward in the event of an accident and would be severely crushed by the person carrying it. In the case of a six-year-old child sat in the back seat but without a booster cushion, the movement of the seatbelt could cause severe neck injuries, and their body could end up sliding out below the seatbelt with fatal consequences.

By using an approved child restraint system (CRS) appropriate to the weight of the child this would not happen, in that the seatbelt would work properly and check the child's movement, minimizing the risk of sustaining an injury.

These are some of the conclusions of the report on child safety in cars in Spain and Latin America, produced by Fundación MAPFRE. The objective of the study is to analyze the most frequent and dangerous mistakes that parents make when traveling with their children, such as not using a seatbelt or wearing them too loosely, and to provide information on the areas of the body most susceptible to critical injuries that can occur when an inadequate CRS is employed.

Fundación MAPFRE has carried out numerous crash tests that trial different child restraint systems in both correct and incorrect situations, as well as examples of when unapproved or aging systems are employed and others in which there is no child seat at all.

A number of different parameters were studied for each test such as the acceleration of the chest and the horizontal and vertical movements of the head of a doll as well as logging the signals from sensors on dummies to assess the risk of injury that could occur in the event of an accident.

Additionally, the dossier analyzes child traffic accident data in Spain and the current situation of child safety in cars in Latin America.

Fundación MAPFRE 2016

To access the study, download from:

Seguridad vial infantil: Uso de los sistemas de retención: Análisis de la situación en América Latina y el Caribe

This study aims to show the problem of claims for children suffering traffic accidents in the region, providing technical and scientific analysis tools, giving public exposure to the problem and educating on how it can be faced.

The data for completing this study was taken from the Fundación MAPFRE report "Safety Child Car Seats – Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean", which presents the current situation of child road safety in the different countries and provides evidence for the urgent need for effective measures to reduce infant mortality in traffic accidents.

With the publication of these results, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Fundación MAPFRE analyze and present their conclusions and recommendations on the current status of child road safety in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing empirical evidence for the different countries to corroborate their policies and programs in this regard. It has been shown that the correct use of Child Restraint Systems (CRS) reduces injuries by between 90 and 95 percent for systems where the child faces backward and 60 percent where the child faces forward.

Fundación MAPFRE 2013

Access the study by downloading at: 

20 years of child safety seats

This study gives an overview of child road safety in Spain and in more detail, the development of child passenger safety in cars or vans during the last decades. (1990 to the present)

Looking after our own.

Road traffic accidents are still the major cause of infant deaths. In 2010 they were responsible for one in three deaths caused by injury.

Improving child safety in the automobile

About half of the deaths of children under 15 killed in road traffic accidents were travelling as passengers in either cars or light vans.

Reducing mortality rates

For every 7 children that lost their lives in traffic accidents in Spain during 1990 the figure today is only one.

Year: 2012

Authors: Fundación MAPFRE

This is a study describing the general size of the problem represented by the road accident rates for children in Latin America. It describes the legislation in the different countries and makes a relative study comparing those countries that are increasing awareness of this problem, possible solutions and priorities for action.

Childcare.

In many countries, above all those most advanced, children killed whilst travelling constitute a sizeable group.

Yes to seats.

Child safety seats prevent between 50% and 90% of child deaths or serious injury.

Browsein depth study in depth: 

Child safety seats. The situation in the Caribbean and Ibero- America

Year: 2011.

Author: Fundación MAPFRE

The full study may be accessed at: Newsletter Nº 2: Children in the car and frontal airbags.

During the last 20 years there has been a notable technological improvement in vehicles such as the passive security offered by airbags. 

Are front passenger airbags completely safe for children?

What precautions must be taken into account?

Find the answers to these and many more questions downloading this study:

Bulletin No1: children in automobiles, the safest position, looking backwards

Year: 2011.

Author: Fundación MAPFRE

Whilst in Sweden children up to 3 years of age always travel in their seats facing backwards it is not habitual practice in other parts of the world, where once they child reaches one year old or about 9 or 10 kilos they are usually sat with their seats facing forward.

Which is safest? 

Until when should the child travel with the seat facing backward? 

Why?

Newsletter No1: Children in the car: the safest position, facing backwards.

Year: 2011

Authors: Jesús Monclús and Fundación MAPFRE

Sponsor: Fundación MAPFRE

For more in depth information, download it here:

Safety priorities in Spain for children in vehicles

After an in depth study of the relative statistics of traffic accidents in Spain between 2005 and 2008 involving children between 0 and 14 years, some interesting conclusions were drawn as to the circumstances that led up to the accidents and thereby helping to avoid them in the future. Also providing invaluable information with regard to design and prioritization of road safety measures for children.

STOP accidents!

After analysis of those accidents over a long period of time, 2005-2008 there were a total of 263 fatalities of children under 14 years of age and another 1894, seriously injured and another 14740 with minor injuries.

Types of vehicles.

About 80% of those children implicated in accidents were travelling in a car or light van.

Types of roads.

The average road is where most accidents occur: 88% of the total.

Year: 2011.

Author: Fundación MAPFRE

The use of the seat belt during the whole of the pregnancy is fundamental. This study emphasizes the important information about child seats provided by maternity departments in Spain also touching on important topics such as:

Your first and most important journey.

Information available in hospitals.

Comparisons of information available in Spain and the United States.

To download the complete study:

Bulletin No.3: children and automobiles: Pregnancy and the first journey home

Year: 2009.

Author: Institute of Road Safety, Fundación MAPFRE.

This is a study of perception and awareness of drivers who generally drive children up to 12 years of age.

Set an example.

Children learn fundamentallyby imitatingbehavior. 11% of those interviewed use no child seat in the car during certain journeys, especially during short trips.

To know is to win.

More than half of adults, 62% don’t know when the use of child seats or booster seats is obligatory.

If you would like to know more about this study, download it at:

Study of children and road safety in Madrid

Year: 2005.

Passengers also play an important role within the car. This study analyzes the perception and awareness of the legislation governing child security in the car.

There are no excuses.

30% of children travel with incorrect protection. Excuses for this are laziness  (47%) or the shortness of the journey (45%).

A god wexample.

We will try to demonstrate using data the possibility of an accident occurringand the consequences of that accident, reminding you that children learn by imitating behavior.

The earlier the better.

Driving education and following the regulations ought to be instilled from a young age since this conduct will later become habitual.

To learn more about this studydownload it at:

Children’s road safety: the family

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