Lotta Jakobsson, a senior safety specialist at Volvo Cars, commented: “When comparing data from Sweden and Germany [over the last five years], it becomes evident that the Swedish habit of transporting our smaller children in rearward facing seats for longer protects this age group.”

In Sweden children travel in rear-facing seats until they are three or four years old; in Germany, as in most other countries, children start to sit facing forward from around the age of 12 months. This is changing as more rear-facing seats become available. In January, Britax launched the Max-Fix, a Group 0+/1 rearward facing ISOFIX-compatible car seat that allows parents to kep their children rearward facing until around the age of four (or 18kgs).

How rear-facing car seats work

In the most common and the most severe car accidents, the occupants’ head is thrown forward with force. Its momentum propels it downwards onto the breastbone and then back up again. While most adult necks can withstand this strain, a small child’s neck cannot. In a rear-facing seat, the force is distributed throughout the child’s spine instead of being concentrated into its neck and head. This video explains it well:

The rearward-facing car seat was invented in 1967 by Swedish safety genius, Professor Bertil Aldman. Aldman was inspired by the special seats used by Gemini mission astronauts during take-off and landing, which were moulded to distribute G forces over the whole back. The same principle is what protects children in car accidents. The whole of the child’s back takes the strain of the impact, not just its much weaker neck.

You might also want to know how to choose the best infant car seat.