The NSW Government, along with state motoring organisations, have issued new child car seat ratings to help parents choose the safest child car seat.
Thirteen child car seats were tested through the Child Restraint Evaluation Program (CREP) to measure their crash protection performance and ease-of-correct-use. Seats are awarded a star rating of one to five, with five being the safest.
Test Results
Three simulated crash tests: the frontal impact, side impact and the oblique impact test.
- Six seats received one-star for protection including;
- One-star seats: Maxi- Cosi Citi (rear facing) Max- Cosi Luna (forward facing) Babylove Cosmic 11 (forward facing) Infa-Secure Luxi 11 (forward facing) Infa Secure Grandeur Treo (forward facing)
- Nuna Klik (rear facing) scored a maximum of five stars for protection
- Safe-N-Sound Kid Guar Pro scored 4-stars for both protection and ease-of-use
Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey said the new star ratings will “help to remove confusion for parents”.
Correct Fitting of Car Seat and Correctly Strapping a Child in the Car Seat
It does not matter how good your car seat is if it is incorrectly installed or your child is not placed in the car seat properly.
Researchers from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) watched as parents read manuals and then attempted to correctly fit and install a child-sized mannequin in a rear-facing restraint.
They found 90 per cent made at least one mistake. Many made several. Yet after many rounds of revisions using suggestions from parents, the level of errors dropped to 10 per cent.
The Lane Cove Council has a free child car seat safety checking service on 30 March 2019. They hold several throughout the year. Bookings are essential and you can find the details here.
Ratings and restraint fitting stations can be found at www.childcarseats.com.au.
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