At the recent CYBEX Car Seat Masterclass, we joined retailers, training specialists, government organisations, members of the press and the police to learn more about R129, consumer testing and the brand’s new technologies. Find out more in this exclusive interview with UK&I General Manager, Luke Burns:

Luke, what was the reason for running the Masterclass?

Firstly, thank you to the team at Nursery Online for attending the CYBEX Car Seat Masterclass. Car Seat Safety is at the heart of the CYBEX business and its in our DNA. We believe that we have a responsibility as a leading brand in the industry to share our in depth car seat knowledge with retailers, press and key safety organisations, so they can feel confident when talking to consumers – as the world of car seats and legislation can be complicated, especially with the recent changes in the EU between R44 and R129 and the confusion it has created here in Great Britain.

Tell us about Cybex’s involvement in the UN regulatory process

CYBEX, along with some other juvenile brands, is a member of CLEPA (the European Association of Automotive Suppliers). Through CLEPA, we participate in the United Nations (UN) Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP), which gives our industry a voice in the UN regulatory processes for vehicles and child car seats. CYBEX plays a leading role, but the Government representatives make the final decision on any regulatory amendments.

What are the key aims of CYBEX technology when it comes to car seat safety?

At CYBEX we have always been committed to innovation and reducing the number of injuries and fatalities on our roads. Our R&D centres are continuing to drive innovation forward in car seat safety, they are always looking at research from around the world of real life situations, crash test data, technologies from other industries and all updates the UN are making in order transfer this into car seat safety.

One example of technology is the Anoris T i-Size integrated full body technology, this technology was born from various market research data that showed consumers are travelling in the forward facing position, despite 10 years of education on the importance of rearward facing. The Anoris T i-Size gives the possibility of travelling forward facing with the same safety results as rear-facing.

The need for this type of seat is further cemented with the data that the team at Child Seat Safety presented at our Masterclass. We were genuinely surprised that their research showed alarming statistics about the real world and what as industry we recommend vs. what parents are actually doing, this included:

• Of all 2 year olds, 81% are forward facing
• 97% of all child seats that could remain rear facing have been turned forward facing

{Data from Child Seat Safety collected since 2013, approx..10,000 child and seat usage records from Police enforcement checks and community check events.}

We believe the data from the team at Child Seat Safety shared with us at the Masterclass supports our ongoing message of being able to provide parents with a freedom of choice when it comes to the safety of their children. Especially when CYBEX internal tests show there is a 50% reduction in safety in our own rotating seats when turned into the forward facing position.

Finally, what can you tell us about your exciting new launch?

I would love to go into detail, but your readers will need wait until the launch in a few weeks time!

Let’s just say our innovation we believe will revolutionise car seat safety again…