BS 7409:1991 Safety requirements for wheeled child conveyances
So what sort of areas does this Standard cover?
- Labelling
- Stability
- Brake specifications
- Safety harnesses
- Materials
- Test methods
- Construction
The test baby
The Standard states what specifications 'test baby' should be made to:
- be a solid cylinder 200mm in diameter
- be 200mm in height
- have two harness and anchorage points
- weigh 15kg.
Some tests from BS 7409
Part 7: Parking Devices says:
'There should be no visible damage to the pushchair's brake mechanism when following the Standard's test method for this part'.
The test method
Apply the brake 200 times and then check for signs of visible damage.
Part 15: Stability says:
'The chassis and seat should not tip when tested to the specified part of the Standard.'
The test method
- Put your 'test baby' into the pushchair and strap either him or her in.
- Place both on a horizontally raised platform (12 degrees).
- Put a square stop at the bottom and then test the pushchair A) forwards B) backwards and C) sideways.
* Things to think about when designing children's transport
Some areas of design that the standard covers:
- there should be nothing in which children might get their fingers trapped, e.g. open tubes, loose washers, holes etc
- there should be no edges sharp enough to injure someone
- any permanent fixture that a child can grip or put in their mouth must be made so that it cannot be pulled off even at a force of 90N in any direction
- if your transport design has harness straps, they should go over the shoulder from front to back
- shoulder straps should not be too wide (no more than 100mm apart)
- if the straps are crossed they should cross at the back.
There are thousands of other parts to the standards and tests that can be carried out. If you wish to look at any standard in full then most main libraries hold full sets of standards.
*Simplified version of text from the standard.