Every child's inherent right to ride safely in cars : A design proposal accommodating child protection in the standard vehicle design

Abstract: Road safety is integral to nearly every aspect of daily life all around the globe and it begins in early infancy. Children are exposed to the inherent risks associated with road traffic and it is the leading cause of death globally among children and young adults. Although effective prevention measures are available, it is all too common with either unrestrained or improperly restrained children on the global roads. Only children are omitted in the protection system of vehicles. Therefore, children require additional equipment to ride safely in cars. The purpose of this thesis was to address the dilemma of unrestrained and improperly restrained children. The objectives were to define the most important requirements for an integrated child restraint and based on these propose a design of such a system. The thesis reflected a concept development process and applied the three lenses of innovation, namely, desirability, feasibility, and viability. The prominent criterions in the product design specification includes arguments that so far have stagnated the value of an integrated child restraint. The arguments connect to cost, restricting comfort and space for other passengers, and restricting flexibility and weight of the total vehicle. The thesis proposed a design of an integrated child restraint for children between 4-12 years. Furthermore, it provides a glimpse of an integrated rearward facing child restraint for younger children to illustrate the importance of protecting all children in the standard vehicle design and in-vehicle restraint systems.