No. The initiative for modern children's safety was introduced in 1963 in Sweden. While watching a US TV programme, Bertil Aldman (Chalmers University, Göteborg) noticed the position of astronauts in the Gemini space capsule. The astronauts coped with the g-force much easier while lying on their backs in the opposite direction of the g-force. Professor Aldman believed that the same principle could be applied to car safety equipment, thus providing a much greater degree of protection to the child's head, neck and spine in the event of head-on collisions.
While professor Aldman started his research in this field, Thomas Turbell went down in history as the father of rear-facing car seats. Although at first having to deal with many sceptics, who did not recognize all the advantages of rear-facing car seats, he stood firm in his research-based belief that rear-facing car seats can reduce serious car crash injuries by as much as 92%.
