New child car seat safety ratings have been released to help parents and carers choose safe seats and encourage manufacturers to produce safer and easier-to-use products.
Minister for Transport and Roads, Andrew Constance said the safety ratings were the result of independent crash tests carried out by a partnership between Transport for NSW; Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission and Department of Transport; Kidsafe; and Queensland’s RACQ.
“With so many child car seats on the market it is crucial parents and carers have easy access to the latest safety ratings and testing information so they can make the right choices for their children,” Mr Constance said.
“We’ve made improvements to the testing procedures and scoring protocols, including introducing a side-impact test with intruding door, new advanced crash test dummies and a new test rig featuring current popular vehicles,” he said.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Paul Toole encouraged every parent and carer to do their research before buying a child restraint.
“A big part of child car seat protection is installation,” Mr Toole said.
“If a seat is not used correctly, the risk of serious injuries in a crash is seven times higher than if the seat was correctly fitted,” he said.
Mr Tool said the Safe-N-Sound Compaq and Nuna Rava both scored 3.9 out of five stars for protection; Mother’s Choice Tribe AP scored 3.8 stars; and the Infa Secure Emerge Go received 3.2 stars.
The new child car seat safety ratings can be accessed at this PS News link and information on authorised restraint fitting stations at this link.
