UN ECE R44 is a full Type Approval and it covers our integrated child restraint system (CRS) which is built-in to the adult seat. R14, R16 are approvals of the seat – proof of compliance with current UK and EU safety standards for M1 vehicles.
ECE R44 type approval is not a one-off series of tests. To maintain approval it requires ongoing annual testing and independent assessment for Conformity of Production. We at EVS have that carried out every year.
Type Approval
- R44 — integrated child restraint
- R129 – testing in progress
M1 category Approvals
- R14
- R16
Type Approval: ECE R44, for the child restraint
ECE R44 is the UNECE regulation covering child restraint systems. It remains the current standard for integrated built-in child seats. All our seat models with a built-in child restraint such as the 1860U, 1870U and 1880U are fully approved.
The child restraint is built into the attendant seat and type approved as a child restraint system in its own right – not as a separate piece of apparatus that is strapped onto one.
Seat approvals: R14, R16
Our seats are approved via witnessed dynamic and static testing, to:
| R14 | Safety-belt anchorages, ISOFIX anchorage systems and top tether anchorages |
|---|---|
| R16 | Safety belts, restraint systems and child restraint systems for vehicle occupants |
R129 — and why R44 is the correct approval here
You may have seen that R44 is being withdrawn. That concerns portable child seats only – the kind carried between cars and secured with a seat belt. It does not change the position for a child restraint built into the vehicle seat.
ECE R129 applies to portable child restraints that are installed by the user into a vehicle: its scope covers Integral Universal ISOFIX (i-Size), Integral Specific-vehicle ISOFIX and non-integral booster systems. A restraint manufactured as part of the seat and built into the structure is none of those, and is not technically covered by ECE R129.
ECE R44 anticipates this. Whilst its transitional provisions phase the regulation out for portable child seats generally, Paragraph 17.25 explicitly states that ECE R44 remains for built in child restrain systems: Contracting Parties “shall continue to accept type approvals of vehicle specific ‘built in’ or specific vehicle ‘built in’ child restraint systems”. That provision carries no end date.
Confirmed by the VCA (UK approval authority)
The VCA’s position is that any built-in child restraint systems / child seats do not fall within any approval category defined by R129, that R129 is therefore not an applicable approval route for it, and that they continue to require and accept ECE R44 approval and test reports under the built-in transitional provisions.
There is currently no requirement for R129 testing for built in child seats. The relevant extracts from the VCA’s view are available to builders and ambulance Trusts upon request.
Testing to R129 regardless
Although it is not required, we are running a full R129 approval programme which includes a series of dynamic tests across the range using mannequins of several different sizes, alongside UV degradation and abrasion testing of the materials.
R129 Type Approval will stand as supplementary evidence rather than a replacement for the R44 approval. We are undertaking the testing despite it not being required by VCA, because we believe that having our seats tested to in excess of the regulations demonstrates that they remain the superior seats to specify.
The main practical difference between R44 and R129 is that the size of the children that are suitable to be carried in a child seat, is now determined by their height in R129 rather than their weight in R44. These two methods arrive at the same result, but the logic is that when in use, it is easier for an adult to be able to estimate the height of a child than their weight.
European testing to M1 standards
The UK and European builds of our seats – the models carrying a “U” suffix – are modified and tested to meet M1 standards for European use. Where a U variant exists, that is the model we supply into the UK and Europe.
Additional belting systems offered in other territories are not approved for use in the UK or Europe. However, we can supply the whole range of EVS products for uses that fall outside UK/EU testing, or where the installer will carry out their own compliance testing. All EVS products are fully compliant with the relevant US standards for vehicles and emergency use.
Flammability
Compliant with FMVSS 302 / ISO 3795 and UNECE Regulation No. 118 Annex 6. Flammability is additionally covered by our R44 type approval.
US standards
In addition to being tested to UK and European M1 standards and Child Seat Type Approval, EVS seats meet all relevant US FMVSS standards and NFPA 1917, they are manufactured to the seating requirements of the CAAS Ground Vehicle Standard (GSA) — which requires patient-compartment seating to comply with the OSHA blood-borne pathogens standard for surfaces to have nowhere that biological contaminants can become trapped.
Ambulance seating for over 30 years
EVS has invested in research, development and dynamic testing since 1993, and has brought more safety seating products to the EMS industry than any other manufacturer. Seats are tested at independent engineering and test facilities – performance is demonstrated on a sled, not just asserted on a datasheet.
Manufacturer’s product catalogue
The full EVS Ltd product catalogue, covering the complete range, the base and belting options and the vinyl specification.
Download the EVS product catalogue (PDF)
This is the manufacturer’s US catalogue. Not every model, base or belting option shown in it is approved for use in the UK and Europe — ask us what applies to your build.
Approval documentation
Type approval certificates and test documentation are available on request.
