The government, car seat manufactures and those in the industry are deeply aware of this, which is why changes in the law are currently under way.
Currently, car seats do not need to be tested for side impact, meaning a lot of seats on sale in the UK right at this minute are likely to fail if they encounter a side impact car crash. Side impacts crashes account for the largest number (40 percent) of fatalities; in 70 percent of these crashes, a child was seated on the struck side.
Parents do not know this. In general UK parents believe that all car seats available for sale on the UK market are as safe as can be.
We have surveyed 1000 new parents in the UK to find out exactly what they think about car seats and safety.
67% of parents choose their current car seat because of the brand reputation, they said that they trusted the brand to provide a top quality car seat.
82% of parents believe that car seat crash testing wouldn’t vary by much.
On the whole parents thought that usability and style would be key factors in making a car seat more expensive, but when asked if they thought a more expensive car seat would be safer - 74% of parents said they thought it would be.
Peter Thomas, father of 2: ‘When buying our car seat, I didn’t want to go for the cheapest model. We wanted to spend a bit more and get something decent.’
Kevin Macliver, founder of the Multimac car seat is campaigning for all UK car seats to come with a 5 star rating guide for parents, to give parents an indication of how car seats perform in crash testing.
Kevin has been crash testing car seats for over 12 years, and he has found that car seat vary considerably in crash testing. Kevin says,
‘I know of some incredibly expensive top brand seats that only just make it through testing. I certainly wouldn’t have put my children in those seats armed with the knowledge I have. I believe that all parents should be given the right information to make an informed decision, especially when it comes to safety products for their children, and in the car seat industry this simply isn’t happening.’
Parents have a much obscured view about the quality of a children car seat, which is why a 5 star rating system is essential to help parents make the right decision for their family.
If sun cream can have safety stars then why not car seats? Let’s put parents in the know!".
Press release provided by the PR.
i completely agree, its not something ive ever thought of before, so many trust the brand to provide the most safe products. ours is a mamas and papas seat. i assume, as its a well known brand that it would be safe. now i know better. that must sound like really bad parenting, i just assumed there was standards of safety that must be met! Glad ive read this
ReplyDelete