Report finds many child car seats inadequate in severe crash

A report commissioned by European consumer groups has found that many car seats are inadequate to deal with a serious car crash, as the statutory EU tests are not sufficiently rigorous.

In a test of 20 child car seats, the consumer group report revealed that only a few were deemed good enough to be recommended as adequate in a 40mph crash.

All seats sold in the UK must meet the European safety standard but according to Which? the standard is inadequate, largely because it is unrepresentative of conditions in a serious crash. Carrying out its own tests in partnership with European consumer organisations and motoring clubs, including The AA Motoring Trust, Which? said the results “highlighted weaknesses that wouldn't show up in standard tests that were used to certify seats as safe for sale”.

Despite the seats’ failings, Which? advised that using any child seat is better than using none. The safest seats were found to be those costing around £80 to £90.

Helen Parker, editor of Which?, said: "The car seat industry has a long way to go. We're working together with consumer groups across Europe and car clubs such as the AA to guide people towards the safest seats.

“Over the years we've successfully influenced the development of car safety through a similar approach, with EuroNCAP crash tests. Our aim now is to transform the safety of child car seats in the same way."

Introduced in 1998, the current ECE44-03 standard means that seats are not as strong as they could be said the report, and Which? recommended that any car seat not bearing this mark should be replaced with one that does.

Andrew Howard, head of road safety from The AA Motoring Trust, said: "Knowing that child restraints have met meaningful standards is important for consumers, but so is making sure that child restraints that people intend to buy actually fit properly into the cars they are going to be used in.

“Parents must check this before spending their money, as poor fitting can undo all the benefits of good seat design. There is still much that the makers of cars and child seats can do, particularly in developing the ISOfix universal fitting."

Researchers found that the fitting of seats was complicated by the fact that many only fitted particular cars, and that many car manufacturers approved only specific seats.

The latest ISOfix standard is designed so that seats can be simply clicked into place and reduces the potential for incorrect seat fitting. But few ISOfix seats are available and both car and seat manufacturers have been criticised for being slow to support the fitting system.

(SP)