NEW Britax Car Seat Line Offers 360 Degree Protection and Revolutionary Head Safety Technology

CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 28, 2010 — Britax today announced a full redesign and relaunch of its line of best-selling convertible car seats. The new line offers Superior 360 Degree Protection with Revolutionary Head Safety Technology that dramatically reduces the risk of head injury and provides complete protection from all sides in the event of a vehicle crash.

 Head safety is critical because even tiny increases in head excursion — the distance the head travels forward during the crash — can exponentially increase the risk of head injury. Head injury is the leading cause of death for children up to 12 years old involved in vehicle crashes and comprises 65 percent of injuries in both frontal and side impact crashes, according to Child Injury Led Design and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. With this in mind, Britax designed its new line to help prevent real world injury for children and make it that much easier for parents and caregivers to use their children’s car seats correctly each and every time. 

 Unprecedented Head Safety

 “Many parents don’t realize the violence of a crash. Even if a child is restrained in a car seat, his head can be thrown violently forward in a collision. Should his head make contact with the back of the front seat he can be seriously injured,” said Ron Marsilio, vice president of engineering and new product development for Britax. “We are on a never-ending mission to engineer car seats to be as safe as they can possibly be, especially when it comes to protecting the head. That’s why we designed Britax Revolutionary Head Safety Technology to minimize head excursion and help protect the child from injury.”

Britax Revolutionary Head Safety Technology incorporates features that lower the child’s center of gravity, strengthen the child seat and manage crash energy. Together, they reduce head excursion and offer the most advanced protection to children. These include: 

• A re-engineered lower center of gravity that allows the child to sit lower and creates stability in the event of a crash.
• Integrated steel bars that strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash.
• Patent-pending Britax SafeCell^™ Technology with SafeCells that are designed to compress in a crash. This significantly lowers the center of gravity and counteracts the forward rotation of the child seat, which normally propels the child toward the front seat.
• Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether^® with a two-point attachment and staged-release tether webbing to anchor the top of the car seat. This minimizes forward-rotation and reduces crash forces reaching the child.

Enhanced side impact protection, extended weight capacities 

As the leader in pioneering side impact technologies, Britax designed its new line to improve upon its Side Impact Protection (SIP) and True Side Impact Protection^® (TSIP). The car seats feature deeper side walls lined with energy-absorbing EPP foam that distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, and contain the head, neck and body. Britax TSIP car seats also offer a head restraint that creates an extra layer of energy-absorbing EPP foam, keeping the head, neck and spine “in true” or aligned. This protection is imperative, as approximately one in four of all motor vehicle crashes that involve children occur from the side, and these result in a significantly higher injury rate than frontal or rear impacts, according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In addition to enhanced side impact protection, the new line offers higher weight capacities to keep children rear facing longer and to allow for extended use of a five-point harness. The convertible car seats can accommodate children from between 5 and 40 pounds rear facing and up to 70 pounds forward facing, and the mid-capacity convertible allows children to sit forward facing up to 55 pounds. The new seats offer a harness position that helps position the harness at or below baby’s shoulder, and an infant insert is available separately to properly position the infant and protect the airway.

 Installation and Ease of Use Features

 The new convertibles also include features that make them easier to install and use properly and consistently.

 Non-handed premium LATCH connectors allow the seats to easily transition from rear to forward facing, while an easy access cover and access to belt paths from the front of the seat reduce the time needed for installation. Built-in lock-offs ensure a tight lap and shoulder seat belt installation with minimal effort. 

 Ease-of-use features include: a quick-adjust head restraint, a no-rethread harness (available on all convertibles except for the line’s mid-capacity convertible), buckle adjustments and multiple recline adjustments. 

The revamped line includes the Roundabout 55 (SRP: $199.99), Marathon 70 (SRP: $279.99), Boulevard 70 (SRP: $309.99), Boulevard 70 CS (SRP: $329.99) and Advocate 70 CS (SRP: $369.99). They will be available in a variety of fashions at independent and mass retailers in August 2010. 

About Britax Child Safety Inc.         

Britax manufactures and markets lines of premium car seats, strollers and accessories.  Since its founding in Britain in 1939, the company has become one of the world’s most trusted juvenile products brands, known for its commitment to thoughtful engineering and top-quality, intuitive design. 

Among the world’s largest manufacturers of car seats, the company offers more than 10 car seat models in the U.S. — forward-facing, rear-facing and convertible.  The seats are designed to keep a child rear facing and in a five-point harness longer, and can accommodate a child from “birth to belt” (i.e., 4 pounds to 120 pounds).  The company’s car seats consistently lead the industry in energy-management technologies that go well beyond the safety requirements of government agencies, offering superior 360-degree protection. The company’s innovations include Revolutionary Head Safety Technology, True Side Impact Protection^® and Side Impact Cushion™ Technology.

The Britax stroller line is constantly evolving to meet the modern family’s lifestyle needs. The line offers versatility; a lifespan beyond one child; lightweight solutions for easy travel; and smooth maneuverability.  With thoughtfully designed details inspired by a mom’s daily interactions with her child, parents can rest assured that their children are safe and comfortable in Britax strollers.

Britax USA is located in Charlotte, N.C., and employs more than 200 people.  For more information, visit www.britaxusa.com.