Usability issues concerning child restraint system harness design

A study was conducted to assess usability issues relating to child restraint system (CRS) harness design. Four convertible child restraint systems representing a wide variety of design features were used. Forty-two participants installed two child test dummies in both forward- and rear-facing config...

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Veröffentlicht in:Accident analysis and prevention 2003-05, Vol.35 (3), p.341-348
Hauptverfasser: Rudin-Brown, Christina M., Kumagai, Jason K., Angel, Harry A., Iwasa-Madge, Kim M., Noy, Y.Ian
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:A study was conducted to assess usability issues relating to child restraint system (CRS) harness design. Four convertible child restraint systems representing a wide variety of design features were used. Forty-two participants installed two child test dummies in both forward- and rear-facing configurations either inside or outside a test vehicle. Observer-scored checklists determined the degree to which harnesses were installed correctly. Participant-scored questionnaires evaluated the ‘ease-of-use’ of various design features. While the percentage of correct installations exceeded 83% for all designs when installed in the forward-facing configuration, in the rear-facing position (that intended for children under 9–10 kg), there was a significant (between 65 and 89%) percentage of incorrect installations for all models. This finding is of particular interest and may be indicative of a more generalized problem with ‘convertible’ CRS designs when they are used in the rear-facing configuration. Furthermore, while certain design features were perceived by users as providing significantly better protection in the event of a collision, these also tended to be the features that were misused most often. The benefits and costs of various design features are discussed, and a method to test harness design usability is presented.
ISSN:0001-4575
1879-2057
DOI:10.1016/S0001-4575(02)00009-X