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Motoring news

Complicated car seats 'put children in danger'

28/05/2009

Parents have been warned that some car seats are so difficult to install properly, they pose a safety risk to children.

Which? released research on Tuesday that said installing a child car seat correctly was vital to preventing injuries in a crash.

Yet in its latest round of testing, the consumer organisation found that one seat, the Renolux Next Confort, was so complicated to fit there was a high risk that parents would install it incorrectly. Another Renolux product, the 360, was found to offer "woeful protection" in front crash tests.

Richard Headland, editor of Which? Car, said: "You can buy the safest seat on the market but it must be fitted correctly to protect a child. We've found some seats difficult to install and others offered poor crash protection, which simply isn't acceptable. Until the legal standard improves, children will be at risk."

A spokesman from Renolux, quoted in the consumer affairs section of the Guardian, said the company was taking legal advice about the Which? findings as all its products complied with stringent European legislation.

Top marks were awarded to the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix as it offered excellent protection and came with easy-to-understand instructions.

Which? called for a nationally-recognised training standard for the shops that sell child car seats and said it wanted more councils to offer advice to parents on the correct way to install the safety devices.

The research follows a poll earlier on this year which found the majority of parents were unaware of the law that requires children up to the age of 12 to travel in a car seat.