It’s the one tool that you trust to keep your children safe in a dangerous environment, but according to the NRMA, there are a number of child car seats on the market that could be putting your kids in danger.
The NRMA and its partners have released the 17 results of the Child Restraint Evaluation Program, which have revealed that three of the 17 have received ratings of below two stars.
The two child seats that scored one star include the Safety 1st Sentinel II and the Maxi-Cosi Mico AP ISOGO.
The NRMA’s Senior Policy Advisor, Dimitra Vlahomitros, commented on the ratings, saying: “It is disturbing to see two restraints achieving only 1 star in our test program, especially since the testing program has been running for 15 years.”
“The fundamental message to parents from these tests is that safety does not necessarily come at a price and that price is not the guarantor of safety.”
“Some of the most expensive restraints have the poorest safety scores. Despite being fitted with ISOfix, which can ease fitting the restraint, the Maxi-Cosi Mico AP ISOGO received 1 star for safety, but costs $429. A rival model with 4 star safety was $189.
“The best booster seat in testing is less than $64.”
Vlahomitros urges parents to research each seat’s safety rating before commiting to buying it.
“Babies and other young children are vulnerable so it is important parents consider choosing a car seat with the safest ratings possible by visiting childcarseats.com.au.”
“On the site parents will find more than 50 seats with a safety rating of 4 Stars and five seats with a safety rating of 5 stars.”
The full set of ratings is seen below.
