Rear facing is our biggest flag in car safety.
We defend the Counter-Movement as far as possible and we believe that the law is not at all in line with safety. Firstly, because this law states that the Counter-Movement should only be used up to a child who is one and a half years old, and secondly, because the secondary effect of the laws is that people only follow the minimum possible and do not understand their safety.
After all, it's not forbidden!
What is the Counter March?
In Portuguese, rear facing means “backwards”.
It is an expression used to describe the orientation of child car seats, in which the child faces the rear of the vehicle.
But which law?
The European regulation R129 for seats made in 2013, which states that the child must be rear-facing until 15 months of age and 75cm tall.
Ok, Contra Marcha, but why is it better?
Because a child's body is not developed and is growing. In addition, a child's neck is much larger than its body (relative to the size of an adult's head/body).
But this still doesn't explain why Rear-Move is better, so a harness isn't as good?
When there is an accident in the direction of travel, our body is thrown forward, as it continues to follow the direction in which we were going, but as the harness stops the child's body abruptly, the heaviest and loosest part of the body (the head) will be thrown forward and will cause a kind of whiplash. This is highly dangerous for children.
Against March (left), in favor of the march (Right)
But what kind of forces are we talking about in favor of the march and against the march?
Forces high enough that they never pass the Plus Test in favor of walking, as the Plus Test is extremely demanding when it comes to neck forces.
As you can see, the red line represents the forces of a neck in a forward-facing chair , and the green line represents the forces of a neck in a rear-facing chair . The dashed line is the limit of force on the neck to pass a Plus Test.
If you see this symbol on a chair, it has passed a Plus Test.
What else can I know about Plus Test?
Plus Test is a certificate given to child seats that pass the tests of the VTI Institute in Sweden. Sweden is the leader in car safety and has made the biggest strides towards true child safety in cars and pioneered the idea of Rear-Facing Child Car Seats.
https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard2e.pdf
Is it a coincidence that the country that has invested most in car and rear-end safety has the lowest number of child deaths per 100,000?
What about ADAC?
The ADAC tests are very rigorous and go beyond the minimum safety requirements set by the European Union. They include frontal and side crash tests, as well as assessments of ease of use, ergonomics, quality of materials, and emissions of toxic substances. Unfortunately, the ADAC does not focus as much on the forces exerted on children’s necks in rearward/forward-facing vehicles.
This does not mean that ADAC is not significant, as we place much more value on a chair that has passed ADAC positively than one that has not.
Independent testing is really VERY IMPORTANT.
But can't I just use a seat with a front shield (Airbag) instead of the Rear-Facing Seat?
We do not recommend using front shields as a substitute for counter-steering! Front shields create several problems after trying to solve other (non)problems.
For example, with a front-mounted seat, the child is attached to the seat, which means that in a rollover the child will be released and will certainly be thrown out of the seat! 
And can't I use the chair in Rear-Mount mode on the white one in front?
Only if there is no other alternative (e.g. commercial van)
BUT ALWAYS WITH THE AIRBAG TURNED OFF!
- Young children are very fragile, as their spinal cords have not yet fully formed and the weight of their heads accounts for 25% of their total body weight . Therefore, if a child's neck is exposed to great forces, it can cause serious injury or even death.
- Most car collisions are head-on. In head-on accidents, a child's neck bears the brunt of the force of an accident. According to Plus Test, front-facing car seats always cause forces on the neck that are above the safe injury limits in an accident.
- In Sweden , parents are pioneers in the practice of travelling rear-facing with children until they are at least 4 years old and, normally, until they are 5/6 years old , when due to their weight and height they no longer fit in rear-facing seats and can travel in forward-facing seats with a seatbelt.
More and better tools, Plus Test, Adac and Reverse Gear?
In partnership with ACS (Associação Criança Segura), we have developed an online simulator to make your life easier. With many car seat filters. All the seats on this website have been tested.
See the Simulator Here!
See the ACS Website here!
At Gotu!
We have segmented our rear facing chairs into several categories.
