ISO 29061-5:2017

Overview

ISO 29061-5:2017 - Road vehicles - Methods and criteria for usability evaluation of child restraint systems (CRS) - Part 5 focuses on the installation and securing of a child in a booster system. The standard defines objective, repeatable procedures and scoring criteria to judge the usability of booster seats (with or without seatbacks), including vehicle‑integrated boosters. It addresses the clarity and availability of instructions and labelling, and the ease of use of design features that affect correct installation and child securing. The term ISOFIX is extended in this part to include flexible attachment systems (LATCH, UAS).

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope of evaluation: Separate assessment of the booster system, usability when installing in specified vehicle seating positions, and securing a child or child dummy in the booster.
• Instruction and labelling: Criteria for the ease of availability, clarity of the instruction manual, durability of labels, consistency between manual and on‑product labelling, and use of pictograms or illustrative video.
• Design and hardware: Assessment of conversion steps (multi‑mode CRS), need for tools, single‑action operations, positioning devices, and adjustability features.
• Usability procedure:
  • Intended to be completed by a small team (typically two people) familiar with CRS terminology but preferably unfamiliar with the model under test.
  • Typical evaluation time is about 30 minutes.
  • Required materials include the usability evaluation form (paper or electronic), vehicle owner’s manual, CRS manual/video, and a force gauge.
• Scoring system:
  • Each item is rated Good / Average / Poor (3 / 1 / 0 points) and assigned an importance rating A / B / C (3 / 2 / 1 points).
  • Item score = quality score × importance score (maximum 9 points for a Good/A item).
  • Final results are expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible score for the tested configuration.
• Documentation: Usability forms and example spreadsheets are provided (revisable MS Excel format) via the ISO link for the standard.

Practical applications and users

ISO 29061-5:2017 is valuable for:

• CRS manufacturers - to design booster seats that are easy and safe to install and to validate instructions and labelling.
• Vehicle manufacturers - to evaluate interface with seat belts and integrated booster solutions.
• Test labs and certification bodies - to perform standardized usability testing and report comparable results.
• Consumer organizations and retailers - to produce usability ratings and guidance for caregivers.
• Regulators and safety researchers - to inform policy and improve child passenger safety through evidence‑based usability metrics.

Related standards

• ISO 13216-1 - ISOFIX (original ISOFIX standard; referenced in this document)
• ISO 9241-11 - Usability definition (referenced for term “usability”)
• Other parts of the ISO 29061 series - for broader CRS usability evaluation methods

Keywords: ISO 29061-5:2017, booster seat usability, child restraint system (CRS), ISOFIX, LATCH, UAS, vehicle anchorage, CRS instructions, usability scoring.