Radian® and SuperLATCH™ capacity
Combining steel frame construction and a new SuperLATCH system, Radian is the first car seat to allow forward-facing LATCH use above 48 lbs and rear-facing LATCH use above 40 lbs. It’s a bold step that no other car seat company has been able to take. So how can we?

NCAP
NCAP crash testing can generate almost twice the impact force of a standard FMVSS213 crash test. It’s the established benchmark for assessing child seat performance in ‘severe accident’ conditions.

• Radian seats are NCAP crash tested at their maximum RF and FF weight capacities.

Tether
Diono always recommends tether use, but actual tether use is still less than 18%. Even at 50 lbs, NCAP testing can far exceed minimum strength requirements for a vehicle tether anchor.

• Radian seats are NCAP crash tested at their maximum RF and FF weight capacities without tether.

Vehicle Anchors
Strength requirement for vehicle lower LATCH anchors was increased in September 2005. (Strength requirement for vehicle tether anchors was not increased.)

• Radian seats are NCAP crash tested at their maximum RF and FF weight capacities without tether,
  installed with SuperLATCH, and without exceeding the capacity of vehicle lower LATCH anchors.

Note: For all vehicles make after September 1, 2005, Diono allows LATCH installation with RadianSL models up to 65 lbs and 80 lbs, even if the vehicle manual states a 48lb lower anchor unit.

Rear-facing
Because of its installation angle, a RF convertible seat generates much higher lower anchor loads than FF (for example: 30 lbs RF can generate similar anchor loads as 50 lbs FF).

• With its steel frame and SuperLATCH system, Radian can successfully NCAP crash test at 45 lbs RF.

Safe and Secure
Successful NCAP crash testing at the highest weight capacities in every installation configuration.
 

Steelweave™ and Easy-Tite™
Webbing is webbing and hardware is hardware … or is it? SuperLATCH™ combines high-strength, wrinkle-free webbing with an ergonomic Easy-Tite™ adjuster.  SuperLATCH™ is the strongest child seat attachment system and the smoothest, easiest to tighten.
 

Top Tether Use
Car seats for children up to 22 lbs RF and 50 lbs FF must be able to pass FMVSS213 crash test standards without using top tether. Above these weights, tether use can be ‘required’ by the manufacturer. Diono always recommends correct top tether use, but a child seat must be able to perform safely without relying on top tether due to limits of its potential capacity and for its use in all situations.

• Not all seating positions in vehicles have tether anchor points at all or in suitable locations.
• Even with growing awareness, top tether use is still less than 30%.
• There are limitations in the load capacity of top tethers in some vehicles.

Requiring top tether for the safe performance of a child restraint creates a significant risk that should not be ignored, especially with larger children.  Radian and SuperLATCH™ are designed with exceptional strength so that top tether use is never required – even at 80 lbs.

NCAP Crash Testing
For ‘severe-accident’ testing, NHTSA utilizes an NCAP crash test of 35mph and 47g impact force - almost the twice the crash impact force in the standard FMVSS213 crash test of 30 mph and 25g. NCAP crash testing assures a child’s safety is not compromised by a potential failure of the child seat in a severe accident. This testing is not required for car seats.

Radian seats are NCAP crash tested at their maximum capacities: rear-facing (45 lbs), forward-facing with harness (80 lbs), and as a booster (120 lbs), all without relying on the use of top tether. In every test, the test dummy remained securely retained and Radian was structurally intact.

FMVSS213 Compliance and Beyond
Extensive crash testing was conducted for rear-facing and forward-facing child occupants. In every test, fully instrumented test dummies were used to accurately measure and record all biomechanical data during each crash sequence. In all tests and in all configurations, Radian seats meet all the biomechanical values established by NHTSA, achieving a level of performance significantly higher to that required by US safety standard FMVSS 213.

Forward-Facing
In all crash tests, even at the maximum weights 80 lbs (5-pt harness) and 120 lbs (booster), Radian seats meet all the biomechanical values established in FMVSS213.
Note: FMVSS213 only requires such results with forward-facing children below 50 lbs.
Above 50 lbs, forward-facing seats do not have to meet any performance results.

Rear-Facing
In all crash tests, even at the maximum weight 45 lbs, Radian meets all the biomechanical values and seat back angle limits established by NHTSA in FMVSS213.
FMVSS213 only requires such results with rear-facing children below 22 lbs.
Above 22 lbs, rear-facing seats do not have to meet any performance results.

SafeStop® Load-Limiter
SafeStop is a patented, energy-absorbing harness component that significantly reduces the forces affecting a child’s head, neck and chest in an accident. This is especially important for younger, forward-facing children who have proportionally heavier heads, but less-developed neck strength. Radian is the only car seat in the world with an energy absorbing harness system.

Side Impact Protection
Radian seats feature deep, reinforced sidewalls that extending straight forward and are lined with thick, energy-absorbing foam. Sidewalls must have proper size, shape and strength in order to contain a child, provide protection and absorb side-impact forces. Radian seats are side-Impact tested in Germany to the recognized standard established by ADAC in Europe.