Backwards is the safe way forward

THE American Academy of Pediatrics says infants in forward-facing seats are 75 per cent more likely to die or suffer severe injuries in a crash.

PARENTS often turn their babies around to forward-facing child restraints by the age of six months - a practice that means infants are 75 per cent more likely to die or suffer severe injuries if there is a traffic accident.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children remain in rear-facing restraints until the age of two, as infants in forward-facing seats are 75 per cent more likely to die or suffer severe injuries in a crash.

"A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of infants and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body," US pediatrician Dr Dennis Durbin said.

Swedish biomechanist and Volvo Car Safety Centre technical consultant Professor Lotta Jakobsson agreed rear-facing restraints were much safer and urged Australian authorities to strengthen regulations that let parents opt for forward-facing restraints far too early.

"An adult's neck is around five times stronger than a three-year-old's," Professor Jakobsson told The Sunday Telegraph last week.

In Australia, about 70 children are killed and 1900 injured in road accidents each year.

Dr Julie Brown, from Neuroscience Research Australia, recommends that infants use rear-facing seats until they are 14 months old - well beyond the mandatory six months.

Philippa Aalhuizen said her 12-month-old daughter Hania-Rose had grown out of her rear-facing capsule seat by the age of six months.

Like many mothers, Ms Aalhuizen, of Balmain, said she liked to be able to see her baby in the rear-vision mirror.

Roads Minister Duncan Gay said NSW had recently joined with other states to strengthen child-restraint guidelines, but did not dismiss the idea of a further review.

"If there was strong community support to increase child safety restraint recommendations, we could pursue it at a federal level."