ISOFIX: what is it in the car
The presence of ISOFIX standard mounts in the car is considered something like an advantage of a particular car model. In fact, this system is just one of many (not quite perfect, by the way) ways to install child seats in a car.
To begin with, let's decide what, in fact, this beast is this ISOFIX. This is the name of the standard type of fastening of a child seat in a car, adopted in 1997. Most modern cars sold in Europe are equipped in accordance with it. This is not the only way in the world. In the USA, for example, the LATCH standard is used, in Canada - UAS. As for ISOFIX, from a technical point of view, its fastening consists of two “sled” brackets located at the base of the child car seat, which, using special pins, engage with two reciprocal brackets provided at the junction of the back and seat of the car seat.
To install a child car seat, you just need to put it with a “sled” on the brackets and snap the latches. It is almost impossible to go wrong with this. Few of the drivers transporting their children "in isofix" know that seats that meet the safety standards of this standard exist only for children weighing no more than 18 kilograms - that is, no older than about three years. A real ISOFIX cannot protect a heavier child: upon impact in the event of an accident, its fasteners will break.
Another thing is that manufacturers of child car seats offer their restraints on the market for larger children under names like “something-there-FIX”. Such seats have, in fact, only one thing in common with ISOFIX - the way they are attached to the back sofa in the car. Tests show that such a system does not give any noticeable improvement in the safety of a child heavier than 18 kg. Its main advantage lies in convenience: an empty child seat does not need to be fixed with a belt during the ride, and it is also a little more convenient to put and drop a child in it. In this regard, there are two directly opposite myths about ISOFIX.
The first claims that such a car seat is a priori safer. Firstly, this is absolutely not the case with regard to chairs for children heavier than 18 kg. And secondly, safety is not based on the way the car seat is attached to the car, but on its design and workmanship. Adherents of the second misconception claim that ISOFIX is dangerous due to the rigid fastening of the seat through the brackets, in fact, directly to the car body. Actually it's not bad. After all, the car seats themselves are no less rigidly attached to the floor of the car - and this does not bother anyone.
